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Simplify authentication when changing parts
Relaxed requirements for charger manufacturing
Improved charging rate accuracy

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NITS) announced that it will pursue efforts to reduce the burden on businesses by relaxing the certification standards for electric vehicle chargers and manufacturing facility requirements.

The Korea Agency for Technology and Standards held a public hearing on the revision of the “Electric Vehicle Charger Technical Standards” on the 19th to collect opinions from the industry and plans to complete the revision process within the year.

There are three main improvements.

First, certification for component changes will be simplified. When changing auxiliary electronic devices, such as displays, modems, and payment devices, whose specifications frequently change depending on the charger user, certification can be obtained with only a few tests. Minor changes, such as exterior or terminal block changes, will be exempt from approval.

In particular, in the case of cable length changes, which have been an inconvenience to the industry, if the minimum and maximum lengths are approved at the time of initial type approval, manufacturing can be freely changed within that length range without additional approval.

The second is the relaxation of manufacturing requirements. Registering as an electric vehicle charger meter manufacturer requires testing facilities with a maximum capacity of 300V/40A AC and 500V/120A DC, which has been a burden for new entrants. However, going forward, we will pursue revisions to related laws so that only facilities appropriate for the capacity of the products actually manufactured will be required.

Finally, the accuracy of charging rates has been improved. To provide consumers with more accurate charging rates, the unit of charge display has been changed from one decimal place to two decimal places (0.1 kWh → 0.01 kWh).

The Korea Agency for Technology and Standards plans to supplement the revised content by reflecting industry opinions and, after going through procedures such as administrative notice, revise and announce the 'Electric Vehicle Charger Technical Standards' as early as the third quarter of the year or at the latest within the year.

Lee Sang-hoon, head of the Korea Agency for Technology and Standards, said, “As of the end of last year, 230,000 electric vehicles and 107,000 chargers were distributed domestically, and this number is expected to continue to increase.” He added, “We will communicate closely with the industry to alleviate the certification burden so that the certification system does not become an obstacle to the distribution of electric vehicle chargers. At the same time, we will work to manage measurements and prevent illegal manipulation so that the public can trust and use electric vehicle chargers.”