The Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute (KERI), an internationally accredited power equipment testing and certification body, is supporting the establishment of a large-scale testing laboratory in Thailand.

The Korea Electric Power Research Institute announced on the 26th that it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for mutual cooperation to support the construction of a large-scale testing laboratory facility promoted by the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT).

EGAT is a state-owned power company that produces and supplies 33% of Thailand's electricity consumption, with annual sales of 30 trillion won and 16,000 employees.

Thailand, which has the largest power equipment market in ASEAN, is working to improve its testing infrastructure, which is more than 50 years old.

In particular, with the recent emergence of competitors such as Vietnam and Indonesia, demand for improvement and construction of power equipment testing facilities in Thailand is increasing.

Accordingly, EGAT reached out to KERI, which possesses world-class power equipment testing and certification capabilities that are unrivaled in Asia, and its representative (acting director) Jiraporn Sirikum personally visited the Changwon area.

Through the MOU, KERI plans to participate in various engineering projects to improve or build high-voltage and high-power testing facilities in Thailand.

The institute has already successfully completed a 1 billion won service contract project to support the construction of a testing laboratory promoted by GCC Lab, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia's state-owned oil company Aramco, and is expecting good results in Thailand as well.

In addition, KERI plans to sign a contract with EGAT to provide various employee training services ranging from testing lab-related purchase orders to maintenance processes starting in the second quarter of this year.

Through this, KERI plans to secure favorable test customers and significantly enhance Korea's status in the Thai power equipment market.

KERI President Kim Nam-gyun said, “This MOU signing means that our research institute has gone beyond issuing credible international test reports and has reached the stage of exporting testing and certification ‘technology’ and ‘professional personnel.’ We will continue to increase our organization’s recognition and capabilities so that people in the power equipment industry around the world can recognize and trust our products simply by looking at the KERI logo.”

Meanwhile, KERI is a regular member of the Short-circuit Testing Liaison (STL), a testing and certification association with unparalleled authority in the international power equipment industry, and is contributing greatly to the development of overseas markets for domestic power equipment companies by ensuring that the institute's test reports are accepted in the global market.