S. Korea Opens World’s Largest EV Battery Safety Center

This photo, provided by the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards on Sept. 15, 2023, shows a secondary battery fire testing center in Samcheok, Gangwon Province. (Image courtesy of Yonhap News)

SEOUL, Sept. 15 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea on Friday opened the world’s largest fire safety evaluation center for secondary batteries in the eastern port city of Samcheok in a move to boost fire testing and related analysis capabilities, the industry ministry said.

The Korean Agency for Technology and Standards under the ministry opened the 5,600-square-meter evaluation center equipped with a 30-megawatt fire analysis system, which can carry out fire tests on four electric vehicles, the largest scale in the world.

The center will be tasked with analyzing the causes of fire on EVs, performing tests of fire extinguishing equipment and backing corporate technology development for large-sized secondary cell products.

The agency began the construction of the center in 2020 with a budget of 69.8 billion won (US$52.48 million), as the lack of battery testing infrastructure has been a major issue of the industry amid its marked growth, the ministry said.

“The center is expected to help shorten the time for domestic firms to complete necessary testing and certification procedures for exports. The government will continue to actively support battery firms to secure super-gap advanced technologies,” agency chief Chin Chong-wook said.

(Yonhap)