[Consumerwide - HueSoung Jun Reporter / Yohan Bok Reporter] New EV chargers and systems were presented at EV Trend Korea 2024. The keyword for this year is fire prevention for EV chargers.
A variety of fire prevention technology for EV chargers, robots, and ceiling types of chargers caught the eye of visitors during the EV Trend Korea.
New technologies to prevent fire during EV charging were presesented.
LGU has presented the Safety-Up charging system, which is focused on fire prevention by cutting off electricity in the case of sensing over-electricity pressure or overheating during the charging process. Besides, this system offers a real-time check on charging situations with a camera on the charger, a blackbox function that records problem situations during charging, and auto-user sensing technology that does not require tagging or a smartphone application for charging. Earlier, LGU presented Bolt Up EV charging systems on the market.
EL Electric has presented a charger connector with new fire prevention technology that contains a temperature sensor, automatic dry powder, and a light function for night charging.
An associated person from EL Electric said, "The temperature sensor on the connector prevents fire, which was caused by overheating. If fire occurs due to overheating, the automatic dry powder will cease the fire. The light function, which is our panent technology, is convenient at night."
L3 Electric Power has presented Easyplug, a PnC complete charger designed for fire prevention. This charger supports user certification, charging, and payment simultaneously at the time of connection, along with fire prevention.
An associated person from 3L Electric Power said Easyplus is the first domestic PnC complete charger for fire prevention. It prevents fire by sensing fire risk along with the electricity cut function."
Kool Charge has introduced a charging station fire-watching system using AI object detection and thermal imaging technology. This system assists in managing fire appropriately by sensing fire through the analysis of AI based on thermal imaging and RGB camera video data. At the time of a fire, the system informs the manager through a push and an alarm. It can also monitor the charging station while assessing the temperature in each pixel area.
An associated person from Kool Charge said, "We plan to connect an automatic fire ceasing system for chagers and EVs later on. Currently, we are only offering alarming service to the station manager in the case of fire."
On the other hand, Sheildone has demonstrated humanless automatic fire ceasing systems (EV) and fire ceasing systems for all types of vehicles during the EV Trend Korea.
An associated person from Shieldone said, "The humanless auto fire ceasing system covers the fire section by sensing smoke and ceasing fire through the mobile car fire blanket. So that it won't spread to other parts of the area. The system senses smoke in the fire case, and it immediately rings an emergency bell and brings fire-fighting equipment to the fire section. Then the equipment goes down to block the fire section so that the fire won't spread. The waterjet function, which can inject water straight by connecting a fire prevention hose, is perfect for fire in basement parking lots where it is uneasy to cease fire. Some equipment can manage EV fires automatically, regardless of the size and type of vehicles. This equipment stops any possibility that might expand the initial fire by covering the entire fire section with a fire blanket using remocontrol. (for the case of a large bus) It takes approximately two adults to move the equipment.
From robot charging to ceiling charging, the new technology of the EV charger
Plenty of new technologies were introduced during EV Trend Korea, including robot charging and ceiling charging systems. The demonstration of Modern Boy, which is a robot charger by Moderntec (an EV charger business) made in cooperation with Seoulsi, caught the eyes of visitors. As soon as the robot was activated through a controlling system, it took the charger connector from the charger and moved to the EV to complete charging. After charging, the robot closed the lid and brought the charging connector back to the charger.
An associated person from Moderntec said, "The user has to activate the Modern Boy at the moment; however, we plan to enhance the system so that the system (the Modern Boy) will carry out the entire charging. So that users, including silver customers and people with disabilities, would be at rest during charging."
The Cable-Up charging system of LGU, in which one charger can cover four sections of a parking lot, was physically displayed at the booth. The charger is installed on the ceiling, so the charging connector is protected from unnecessary pollution or water sinking. It does not require floor space for installation and can serve four sectors of parking lots with one charger simultaneously (load balancing technology). The first connected EV is charged with 7 kWh, and the rest of the EVs have 3 kWh. When the first EV gets over with charging, the next EV gets 7 kWh.
The Cable-Up charging system was demonstrated at the booth. At the charging kiosk, the user needs to choose a charger where his vehicle is located. As soon as he tags his charging card to a reader device, a button with a "Please down your connector" message appears. When you press the button, a connector begins to move down to charge your EV. When you connect it to your car, it starts to charge. After completion, when the user presses the connector up button at the kiosk, the charging connector returns to the ceiling. This type of charging system might be widely used in apartments in the future.