R&D Plan for Five Key Areas
An electric car that can run for 600km on one single charge will be developed by 2022. The charging time will also be reduced to one-third of the current level. The life span of hydrogen cars will be doubled to 300,000 km (passenger cars) and their prices will be cut down 30%.
These are some of the goals to be pursued by the Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy to promote the domestic electronic vehicle (EV) industry. The ministry released its mid- to long-term technology development plan (2018 to 2022) at a public hearing in Seoul on July 19. The ministry will announce its finalized industrial technology R&D strategy this September.
The new technology roadmap includes R&D plans to develop five major industries -- electric and autonomous vehicles, semiconductors and displays, internet of things (IoT) appliances, bio-health and new and renewable energy.
With respect to electric cars, an ultra-fast charging system will be developed to shorten the charging time to one third of the current level. The ministry will localize core parts, reduce the use of platinum catalyst usage 50%, and develop dedicated parts for commercial hydrogen vehicles among others in order to curtail the price of hydrogen vehicles by 30%.
Moreover, technology will be developed to charge more than 100 hydrogen cars per day and charge more than two cars at the same time.
In the IoT appliance sector, the ministry will realize energy saving technology and smart home technology that automatically cut off home appliances, lamps, and gas based on artificial intelligence (AI).
As for semiconductors, investment will go into the development of next-generation semiconductor technology, which will reduce chips’ power consumption to one 1,000th of the current volume and enhance their performance 1,000 times by 2025.
The ministry is planning to help the Korean display industry maintain its top market share in the world by helping Korean display companies develop next-generation flexible displays that can be transparent and foldable on time.