The Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute (KERI, Acting President Nam-gyun Kim) showcased its core technologies for electric ships and non-lethal electromagnetic weapons.

The Korea Electric Power Research Institute will participate in the '2022 Chungmugong Yi Sun-sin Defense Industry Exhibition' held at the Jinhae Naval Academy in Changwon from the 6th to the 9th to showcase defense technology.

At this exhibition, KERI will introduce the following technologies: △Land-Based Electric Ship Testing Laboratory (LBTS), △Non-lethal anti-personnel neutralization system based on high-power electromagnetic waves (millimeter waves), △Contactless magnetic gear-based counter-rotating propeller for ships and aircraft, and △Unmanned autonomous navigation control system for electric ships.

The Land-Based Testing Laboratory (LBTS) is a ship propulsion system testing facility that was built in 2015 by KERI with a total project cost of KRW 40.5 billion with support from Gyeongnam Province and Changwon City, making it the first of its kind in Korea and the third in the world (after the US, UK, and Korea).

Electric ships are a difficult field to maintain because if a breakdown or problem occurs after the propulsion system is installed on the bottom, the ship must be dismantled and repaired.

On the other hand, our country is evaluated to have advanced the era of electric ships one step further through KERI's LBTS. LBTS conducted a total of 401 tests for the preliminary performance verification of the 'Dosan Ahn Chang-ho', the first domestic medium-sized submarine, and derived 192 improvement and supplementation items, resulting in a shortened construction period of 368 days and a reduction in the cost of delayed power-up loss of 468.4 billion won. Including the technology import substitution effect of 37 billion won and the regional economic activation effect of 27 billion won, the total effect exceeds 500 billion won.

The non-lethal anti-personnel neutralization system based on high-power electromagnetic waves (millimeter waves) is a kind of 'pain weapon'. When high-power electromagnetic waves are fired at the opponent's skin, it causes pain similar to opening a hot oven without risking life or injury. Another advantage is that it can precisely strike targets at a distance of more than 10 times that of existing conventional weapons at a speed similar to that of light. The technology is attracting attention as a new humanitarian weapon suitable for situations where human casualties must be minimized, such as border disputes over territorial waters and violent protests.

The non-contact magnetic gear-based counter-rotating propeller for ships and aircraft is a technology that generates propulsion by transmitting power without contact between gear parts by utilizing the force of the north and south poles of magnets pushing and pulling each other. It is a world's first achievement that can improve the propulsion efficiency of ships and aircraft by more than 10% by using two propellers arranged axially to rotate in opposite directions to recover and recycle energy.

The electric ship unmanned autonomous navigation control system is a technology that can reduce the development period and cost of actual ships and even improve energy efficiency by simulating various situations (waypoint control, obstacle avoidance, cooperative operation, etc.) in advance under actual conditions (ship model, weather, operating environment, etc.). It is expected to greatly contribute to the revitalization of the future shipbuilding industry, including the construction of smart ports.

KERI Acting Director Kim Nam-gyun said, “Electrification, where electricity becomes central to everyday life and even the defense sector, is accelerating,” adding, “This exhibition will be an opportunity to widely publicize the value of KERI’s advanced defense technology.”

Meanwhile, KERI is a government-funded research institute under the National Science and Technology Research Council of the Ministry of Science and ICT. The 'Yi Sun-shin Defense Industry Exhibition' is an event hosted by Changwon Special City to present various contents on the future power assets of the three military branches and to establish a brand of a city leading the advanced defense industry.