PM Grow (CEO Jaehong Park) has been designated as a ‘Used Battery Safety Inspection Agency’ by the National Institute of Technology and Standards under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
This is the first time a domestic private company has been designated as a used battery safety inspection agency.
On the 21st, Kim Sangmo, Director of the Product Safety Policy Bureau at the National Institute of Technology and Standards, visited PM Grow and presented the designation certificate for the used battery safety inspection agency, announced on the 22nd.
The National Institute of Technology and Standards has been promoting the designation of inspection agencies since July this year to implement the used battery safety inspection system starting from October 19.
The safety inspection system is necessary to safely reuse electric vehicle batteries, which have a lifespan of about 70-80%, without discarding them after use, by repurposing them for energy storage systems (ESS), camping power banks, and more.
Previously, the inspection agencies selected by the National Institute of Technology and Standards were all government-affiliated institutions such as Jeju Technopark, Korea Testing Laboratory (KTL), and Korea Conformity Laboratories (KCL), but this time PM Grow has been designated as the first private company.
PM Grow has laid the groundwork to become a leader in the inspection market essential for reusing used batteries.
Since its establishment in 2010, the company has adopted a business model of a ‘secondary battery circular economy’ covering the entire lifecycle?from manufacturing electric vehicle batteries, subscription services, inspection and diagnosis, to manufacturing second-life products using used batteries.
Starting in 2020, PM Grow launched Korea’s first electric vehicle battery subscription service utilizing big data, collecting real-time electric vehicle operation and battery lifecycle data from buses, taxis, rental cars, etc., and has accumulated technology to predict battery remaining life through independently developed AI algorithms.
In 2021, the company completed the ‘Battery Green Cycle Camp’ in the Pohang Blue Valley Industrial Complex, establishing a battery safety inspection center for diagnosing and evaluating used batteries. The recent designation as a used battery safety inspection agency is attributed to the steadily accumulated technological capabilities and R&D investments.
PM Grow plans to apply software inspection techniques to safety inspections to dramatically improve inspection efficiency. Additionally, based on data collected from operating electric vehicles, it aims to introduce online inspections to promote various platform services?from accurate battery status and remaining life diagnosis and certification to maintenance, insurance, and used car businesses?thereby creating new markets.
Jaehong Park, CEO of PM Grow, explained, “Being designated as the first private company as a safety inspection agency essential for activating the used battery market is significant as it recognizes the battery diagnostic technology we have accumulated from a national institution.”
CEO Park emphasized, “Based on the data collection and analysis technology accumulated through operating the electric vehicle battery subscription service, we will provide convenient and accurate inspection services.”
PM Grow has also signed a business agreement with Busan Technopark for ‘Electric Vehicle Battery Circular Economy and Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Development’ and established an R&D center in the Busan branch complex earlier this year, contributing to market establishment and regional economic development by fostering the downstream industry ecosystem.
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