Over 8,600 Chargers Produced by KEPCO
Installed at Over 2,800 GS Gas Stations
Lee Junho, Head of New and Renewable Energy Business Division at Korea Electric Power Corporation (right), and Kim Jeongsoo, Head of Strategic Planning Office at GS Caltex.. (Photo by Korea Electric Power Corporation)
[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] About 8,600 electric vehicle chargers made by Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) will be installed at approximately 2,800 GS Caltex gas stations nationwide. If the electric vehicle charging authentication and payment system is successfully commercialized next year, the electric vehicle infrastructure is expected to rapidly expand.
KEPCO announced on the 25th that it signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with GS Caltex at the GS Tower in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, to develop a corporate customer electric vehicle charging service model. They plan to secure corporate electric vehicle customers and expand charging infrastructure.
GS Caltex corporate customers will be able to use the nationwide charging infrastructure of about 8,600 chargers built by KEPCO. KEPCO aims to increase electric vehicle usage, while GS Caltex secures the lacking charging infrastructure.
In the future, various value-added service products targeting corporate customers using KEPCO’s electric vehicle charging facilities will be launched. GS Caltex plans to provide various value-added services such as car washing and maintenance offered at its gas stations.
Additionally, fast chargers will be further installed at GS Caltex gas stations nationwide so that electric vehicle customers can conveniently refuel just like internal combustion engine vehicle customers. Through this, KEPCO will secure GS Caltex membership members as KEPCO customers.
Lee Junho, head of KEPCO’s New and Renewable Energy Business Division, said, "Through this cooperation, KEPCO has secured a large-scale electric vehicle charging sales channel and excellent charging station sites," adding, "We will expand the 'corporate customer electric vehicle charging service' to companies like GS Caltex that have a large number of electric vehicle members."
KEPCO plans to develop and launch various value-added services in the market, including automatic payment and vehicle inspection, as well as fuel charging for electric vehicle customers.
Earlier in July, KEPCO announced plans to commercialize the electric vehicle 'Plug and Charge (PnC)' service next year. This service allows charging without separate user verification and payment steps when an electric vehicle is connected to a charger.
Starting next year, electric vehicle manufacturers will be encouraged to expand the release of electric vehicles equipped with this technology. To this end, KEPCO plans to establish a security communication infrastructure (PKI, Public Key Infrastructure) system that issues electronic certificates to electric vehicles within this year.
A KEPCO official said, "The global electric vehicle sales share is expected to expand to 7% of the automobile market by 2023, with more than 5.4 million units sold annually," adding, "If various businesses utilize the PKI provided by KEPCO, diverse services such as smart charging and bidirectional charging (V2G) will also expand domestically."
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