The spread of electric vehicles is slowing down due to the electric vehicle chasm. Of course, this is because the cost-effectiveness is lower than that of internal combustion engine vehicles. This cost-effectiveness is due to the fact that the price of electric vehicles is about twice that of internal combustion engine vehicles, the lack of charging infrastructure, and the decline in battery function in winter, among other disadvantages. Negative factors such as electric vehicle fires also play a major role.


As electric vehicles are increasingly popular around the world, side effects are also appearing in various fields, and among these, electric vehicle fires are becoming a growing problem. The rate of occurrence is also gradually increasing, and the causes are also appearing in various ways.

Of course, it is best to prevent electric vehicle fires in advance as a preventive measure, but it is also most important to take quick action after they occur to minimize personal and property damage. The reason why the relative side effects are increasing as electric vehicles are increasingly distributed worldwide is that electric vehicles are still not fully developed, and the key is to make more efforts to minimize the disadvantages.

Compared to other countries, our country has the most critical weakness in popularizing electric vehicles. If an electric vehicle fire occurs above ground, the problem can be minimized by making every effort to prevent it from spreading to the surrounding area, even if it is difficult to extinguish in time. However, in Korea, where an electric vehicle fire occurs underground, the limitations of a closed space that is completely different from above ground are highlighted.

In other words, in the case of our country, more than 70% of urban areas are characterized by group housing such as apartments, so ultimately, underground parking lots and underground charging stations have no choice but to be used to make up for the lack of above-ground space.

In this situation, if an electric vehicle fire occurs in a closed space, it will be a completely different situation from above ground, including the spread of toxic gases, suffocation and loss of visibility in indoor spaces, the spread of the car fire in a closed space, maximum personal and property damage, and delay in moving firefighting equipment into underground spaces.

Last summer, a large-scale electric vehicle fire in an underground parking lot also spread in the same way. Since then, the government has announced various comprehensive measures, but they are still very inadequate and there are many areas that need improvement.

In particular, starting this year, the government and local governments are reinforcing various facilities to prevent and respond to electric vehicle fires, but problems due to incorrect and limited information are also being exposed in areas such as apartment complexes.

There are several reasons why electric vehicle fires occur, but when a fire initially occurs, toxic gases are generated primarily from the battery pack on the floor, and after a certain amount of time, flames occur at some point, leading to thermal runaway.

In other words, the initial symptoms of an electric vehicle fire are the stage where toxic smoke is generated from the bottom of the electric vehicle to the surrounding area, and after a certain period of time, it spreads due to flames. These progression times can vary from as fast as a few minutes to as slow as 10 minutes.

In this situation, the time race to quickly notify the surroundings and dispatch the fire department, etc. in the early stages of an electric vehicle fire is important.

In other words, it is most important to quickly take measures to prevent the spread of electric vehicle fires, which have a very short golden time, while providing accurate information in real time. As mentioned above, this year, it is most important to take preemptive measures to properly prepare for electric vehicle fires with various equipment, such as the government's support for measures to prevent electric vehicle fires.

The most important factor among these is the proper recognition of the symptoms of electric vehicle fire. As mentioned earlier, the occurrence of electric vehicle fire starts from the battery pack on the floor. At this time, toxic gases are generated first, but after a considerable amount of time, thermal runaway due to flames occurs.

However, most of the current electric vehicle fire prevention measures are mainly installing various facilities through thermal imaging cameras. The most incorrect information is that when the stage of thermal runaway occurs due to flames, the flames have already spread greatly beyond the battery pack to the outside of the vehicle, and the golden time has passed significantly. This time is longer than you think, and the key is how quickly you recognize this time and take action. This means the most important golden time.

In particular, thermal imaging cameras are expensive, but in reality, if the temperature outside the vehicle does not rise significantly, there is a limitation that the detection of electric vehicle fires through cameras is greatly delayed. In other words, the most important initial detection of electric vehicle fires is smoke. In fact, when looking at various electric vehicle fires, the smoke is continuously generated in large quantities and the time difference between the time it expands to flames is large, so a considerable amount of golden time is wasted and no practical measures can be taken. Therefore, smoke detection is the most important thing for detection sensors, rather than heat detection, and taking preemptive measures through this is most important.

Therefore, it is important to prioritize awareness through smoke detection over fire recognition through heat detection, and then how to convey various types of information in real time.

Recently, devices have been appearing that take preemptive measures through smoke detection methods, and especially, devices that utilize more accurate and reliable methods through AI cameras, which have been highlighted recently. These are called 'AI cameras that detect flames and smoke'.

AI cameras are future devices in that they utilize their own built-in memory to update various information on a regular basis, utilize abundant fire information, and play a role in optimally detecting smoke and other issues with higher reliability and accuracy.

Here, it is beginning to emerge as a convergence device that more perfectly takes follow-up measures in the event of an electric vehicle fire through various total solutions such as various apps and automatic fire station connection notifications. In Korea, startups with such comprehensive functions have already appeared and are actively installing nationwide, so it can be said that this is an opportunity for our companies with global cutting-edge technology to take the lead. I hope that this opportunity will be the optimal starting point for fundamentally blocking electric vehicle fires in underground parking lots at an early stage.