The Trump risk is overlapping with the electric vehicle chasm, causing a major disruption in the spread of electric vehicles.


This delay in the spread of electric vehicles is likely to last at least three to four years.

The electric car chasm is because the cost-effectiveness of electric cars is lower than that of internal combustion engine vehicles.

In particular, hybrid vehicles equipped with batteries are the most popular vehicle type in terms of fuel efficiency, price, and stability.

Comparatively, electric vehicles are about twice as expensive as internal combustion engine vehicles, charging infrastructure is still very lacking, and there are many disadvantages, such as a decrease in driving range due to a decrease in battery capacity in winter. Because it takes at least several years to overcome these factors.

In this situation, the disadvantage of electric vehicles is increasingly highlighted: electric vehicle fires.

This problem is also being highlighted overseas, but since it is mainly an electric vehicle fire on the ground, it is said that even if it is a large fire, it is not highlighted as much as long as casualties are minimized and property damage is not expanded.

Of course, it is a task that must be clearly resolved, as the waste factors such as the time required to suppress a fire or the number of firefighters required are serious compared to internal combustion engine vehicles, and the golden time is short, resulting in a significant loss of life.

In particular, the most serious issue in our country is that electric vehicle charging and parking are mainly done in underground parking lots.

Since more than 70% of the city center is comprised of underground apartment charging stations and parking lots, it is inevitable that these must be utilized.

The limitation is that in a situation where 70% of the land is mountainous and the characteristics of group housing such as apartments are very strong on a narrow piece of land, there is no above-ground space and eventually, you have no choice but to go underground.

In this situation, the damage caused by a large-scale electric vehicle fire in an underground parking lot last summer was serious, and although the government announced a comprehensive plan, it was very inadequate, and the complaints and anxiety of apartment residents have not been resolved at all.

There are still various methods being implemented, such as banning electric vehicles from entering underground parking lots in each apartment complex and recommending charging control, but the situation has not been resolved.

At the same time, methods are being developed to not only prevent electric vehicle fires, but also to fundamentally and rapidly extinguish them.

In addition to the most basic suffocating fire extinguisher, mobile water tank, and upward-directing device, there are also real-time data acquisition of battery status, and a method has been developed to inject extinguishing fluid by making a hole in the battery pack at the bottom in case of an electric vehicle fire.br />
Of course, these various methods can help reduce and extinguish electric vehicle fires, but they cannot fundamentally eliminate electric vehicle fires.

There are many cases of spontaneous fires in parking lots after electric vehicles are charged, but electric vehicle fires caused by accidents such as collisions on the road are even more unavoidable.

Currently, various methods for controlling electric vehicle fires are being developed, and the country that is most advanced in these techniques compared to other advanced countries is Korea.

Basically, the characteristics of electric vehicle fires are that they are very difficult to extinguish because they start with a flame caused by a short circuit in the large battery cells at the bottom, and if they spread, thermal runaway occurs.

In this case, there is no golden time for passengers to escape, so there is a significant limit to reducing casualties if an electric vehicle fire breaks out and passengers must evacuate unconditionally.

Since most electric vehicle fires start inside the battery, it would be fundamentally most effective if the fire could be extinguished internally at the point where the fire starts inside the battery.

However, he said, no one has yet come up with a fundamental solution to this problem.

In this situation, a domestic small and medium-sized venture company has developed a method to fundamentally extinguish fires in the early stages inside electric vehicles, which is attracting attention.

If a fire occurs in an electric vehicle battery in its early stages, there is a stage where a strong gas is emitted from inside the battery cell and flames are added, leading to thermal runaway.

This technique is a way to intervene at this early stage and completely extinguish the initial flame from within.

In other words, if a short circuit occurs in the battery cell inside the electric vehicle battery pack and heat is generated, This is a method in which a heat detection sensor inside the module is activated to open the passage of the battery module and preferentially discharge the generated gas to the outside.

In general, it has been proven that in the event of a fire in a battery module, the method of initially releasing the gas to the outside is effective.

So, the technology is to exhaust the generated gas through a type of muffler using a vent plug outside the battery pack.

In other words, the exhaust muffler is not visible in normal cases, but when a fire occurs, the muffler automatically protrudes outside the vehicle and is used to exhaust gas.

This could be called an 'electric car with a muffler'.

This is a method in which the pump operates using the coolant itself, which is always circulating in the battery and motor for cooling, to open the passage of the battery module and submerge the battery cell fire area in the coolant.

The time required is no more than a few minutes, as coolant is completely supplied only to the battery module where the fire is suspected, thereby initially extinguishing the flame.

It is said that later on, only the module in question can be discarded and the remaining battery modules can be used as is.

In particular, since the flame can spread to the exhaust gas and be emitted through the muffler, a method has been developed for pre-burning the exhaust gas before it is emitted to the outside.

In fact, we have proven our technological superiority by conducting dozens of different experiments and confirming that all electric vehicle fires occur within 2-3 minutes.

Recently, the Korea Institute of Fire Protection conducted the same experiment and confirmed its reliability while undergoing certification procedures, and is currently taking various measures, including patenting.

A groundbreaking method to prevent electric vehicle fires from entering the battery early, while ensuring the safety of passengers and minimizing damage.It is expected to be positioned as the only way in .

The effectiveness of this method has already been confirmed in the global market, and various love calls are being received.

Of course, this technology will need to be expanded and systematic systems will need to be secured in cooperation with battery companies and electric vehicle manufacturers in the future, and stabilization work will likely be carried out.

The electric vehicle fire problem is the biggest challenge that is widening the electric vehicle chasm and is a task that must be clearly resolved in the global market.

We are confident that this domestic technology will be applied to mass production as soon as possible, and will become the world's best technology that will greatly contribute to reducing the electric vehicle chasm and spreading reliability and positive perception of electric vehicles.

At the same time, as the safety of electric vehicles greatly improves, it is expected to contribute greatly to the spread of electric vehicles. This is a time when interest in related technologies from academia, industry, and research is increasing.