Hyundai Mobis Develops Two-way Charger for EV, a Core Part for V2G “Electric Vehicles Fill Up the City”

  • Expecting to pre-empt the global V2X (Vehicle to Everything)
    market, which is expected to be worth KRW30 trillion in 2025

SEOUL, South Korea–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#AutomotiveHyundai
Mobis
(KRX:012330) announced on August 17th that it became the first
in Korea to develop the Bi-directional On Board Charger (OBC) for
electric vehicles, which is key to the implementation of V2G (Vehicle To
Grid).

V2G refers to using the idle power while plug-in environment-friendly
cars, such as EV and PHEV, connected to the grid, are parked. The
electric vehicle is charged while connected to the grid, and the
electricity remaining after the day’s operation is transmitted (and/or
discharged) back to the grid. The electric vehicle effectively becomes a
moving Energy Storage System (ESS).

The electric power supplied by vehicles can be used as emergency power
in households and cities. Four electric vehicles can supply energy that
can be used by 20 households in a day. If more vehicles are available,
the surplus power can be secured and large-scale blackouts may be
prevented. Damages to industries due to blackouts are estimated to be
KRW 650 billion a year in Korea.

The industry estimates that if V2G is applied to 100,000 vehicles, 500MW
power, equivalent to the power generation of a thermoelectric power
plant, will be secured. Experts say that “In general, automobiles are
being used less than 20% of the time, and they are parked in the
remaining time,” and it will be very effective. Currently, pilot V2G
projects are being actively carried out in Japan, Denmark, the US and
China.

To implement V2G, ▲ plug-in environment-friendly vehicles,
▲bi-directional OBCs, ▲bi-directional charging stations, and ▲the
discharge rate system are necessary. Among them, ‘bi-directional OBC,’
key to power conversion, is a next-generation part that is not widely
available around the world, thus has never been mass-produced except for
pilot projects.

Hyundai Mobis has participated in the ‘V2G test bed project,’ which
Korea Electronic Power Corporation (KEPCO) has been conducting since
2015, and was responsible for developing the bi-directional OBC. Hyundai
Mobis is the first in Korea to install the bi-directional OBC in
environment-friendly vehicles, verify safety performance, and develop it
to the commercial level in a test bed project.

The ‘bi-directional OBC’ has bi-directional power control circuits,’
such as the AC↔DC converter and the step-up/down converter, for
bi-directional conversion of DC/AC. Hyundai Mobis started the vehicle
testing according to the virtual power scenario earlier this year, and
finished it at the end of last month, while actively commencing with
vehicle testing linked to KEPCO’s real-time power data from this month.

The actual vehicle verification begins with a dedicated charging station
diagnosing the power state of the vehicle, such as battery efficiency
and capacity. The optimal V2G schedule is then created according to the
hypothetical scenarios in which the power supply, cost, and load are
analyzed. Vehicles receive this data signal, and repeats charging and
discharging according to a predetermined schedule.

In future smart cities, many electric vehicles will be charged at the
same time. To reduce the resulting power load, V2G is essential. The
successful development of the bi-directional OBC enabled Hyundai Mobis
to respond more proactively to the global V2X (Vehicle To Everything,
including V2G) market, which is expected to grow to KRW30 trillion
($26.7 billion) by 2025.

About Hyundai Mobis

Hyundai Mobis is a global tier-1 automotive supplier. It was established
in 1977, and is headquartered in Seoul, Korea. The corporate philosophy
is to become a lifetime partner with technologies for automobiles and
people.

Hyundai Mobis currently employs over 30,000 people. Manufacturing
operations are in over 30 locations in 10 countries, including Korea,
China, and the U.S. Products include automotive modules (chassis,
cockpit and front-end), brakes, suspensions, airbags, lamps, and
automotive electronics. R&D headquarters are in Korea with for technical
centers worldwide, Germany, China, India, and the U.S.

Hyundai Mobis has mass-produced a great number of ADAS technologies and
green car components. For more information, please visit the website (http://en.mobis.co.kr).

Contacts

Hyundai Mobis
Choon Kee Hwang, +82-2-2018-5519
[email protected]