South Korea Leading Development of Wireless EV Charging during Driving

The Korean Agency for Technology and Standards (KATS) of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on June 23 that it held a conference on the international standardization of wireless electric vehicle (EV) charging during driving from June 18 to 21 at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science & Technology (KAIST) located in Daejeon.

The conference was attended by about 40 EV charging experts from 10 countries such as the United States, Japan and France. There, they initiated the first discussion regarding South Korea’s international standardization plan related to the compatibility and safety of systems for wireless EV charging during driving.

Wireless EV charging can be divided into charging during parking and charging during driving. The holding of the conference in South Korea means that the country is leading the international standardization of the latter technique.

The international standardization plan was proposed by KAIST professor Yoon Woo-yeol to the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) in November last year. The IEC adopted the plan for further studies in March this year. The purpose of the plan is to ensure compatibility between EVs and facilities for wireless charging during driving and protect the vehicles and their occupants from electromagnetic waves.

At the conference, the experts concentrated on coil embedding in roads for compatibility and safety enhancement. South Korea, the United States and France reflected elliptical coiling, circular coiling and double-D coiling in the international standardization plan, respectively.

The agency explained that a wireless charging infrastructure based on elliptical coiling can be about 50 percent less expensive than those based on American and German techniques.

KAIST, WiTricity, Renault and Toyota discussed wireless charging standards for next-generation EVs at the conference, too. South Korea’s international standardization plan is scheduled to be further discussed at their next meeting in November this year.