The Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute (KERI) is strengthening its presence in the global electric vehicle charging infrastructure market by winning a large-scale project to build a Korean-style electric vehicle charging interoperability test system in California, USA. This achievement is expected to directly assist domestic electric vehicle and charger manufacturers in entering the North American market.

KERI announced on the 2nd that it was finally selected as the execution agency for the 'Charge Yard' project worth 4 million dollars (approximately 5.6 billion won) recently commissioned by the California Energy Commission (CEC).

This project was successfully awarded through a joint team formed by KERI, the US non-profit organization Cal EPIC, and the International Electric Vehicle Charging Technology Association CharIN.

The 'Charge Yard' project is a large-scale interoperability testing and certification infrastructure project to resolve compatibility errors between electric vehicles and chargers.

As the spread of electric vehicles rapidly increased, problems such as charging interruptions or connection failures at specific chargers frequently occurred. As a policy solution, the CEC promoted the establishment of a permanent verification center.

KERI's experience in operating the 'Global Interoperability Test Center (GiOTEC),' the world's first, which opened at the Ansan branch last year, played a decisive role in receiving high marks for this project.

It has been reported that Patty Monahan, former chair of the CEC Mobility Division, visited KERI in person, witnessed the GiOTEC construction process, and highly praised its testing and certification capabilities.

Additionally, the fact that both KERI and Cal EPIC are non-profit organizations, which ensures fairness and objectivity in test results, was also a strength.

With this selection, the KERI joint team will establish a second interoperability test center in the Sacramento area of California after approximately one year of preparation.

This center is KERI GiOTEIt is designed based on C's system and operating process, and manufacturers who meet certain criteria can freely test compatibility with products from various manufacturers by permanently deploying their electric vehicles or chargers.

This will significantly reduce charging errors and secure data that will lead to international standards.

This project is particularly considered a significant boon for Korean companies entering the North American market. With testing conditions in Korea and the US now aligned, domestic manufacturers can conduct tests at KERI that meet US standards without having to travel to the US. This is expected to reduce product development costs and certification risks, thereby enhancing export competitiveness.

KERI's Seo Woo-hyun, head of the Intelligent Energy Testing Lab, emphasized, "Charge Yard will support various policies of the California CEC, and will play a particularly important role in securing interoperability of new technologies such as V2G (bidirectional charging). Since KERI oversees interoperability and conformity assessment technologies, it will be able to significantly reduce uncertainty for domestic manufacturers exporting to North America."

Kim Nam-gyun, President of KERI, also said, “As electric vehicle charging technology becomes more advanced, compatibility issues due to differences in standard interpretations between manufacturers are increasing,” and added, “Winning this project is an achievement that proves that KERI’s testing and evaluation capabilities are world-class, and it is an important stepping stone that supports domestic companies’ entry into the global market.”

Meanwhile, KERI, a government-funded research institute under the National Research Council of Science and Technology under the Ministry of Science and ICT, is expanding its key role in the global electric vehicle charging infrastructure sector, including by recently signing an agreement with EVgo, a leading U.S. electric vehicle charging network operator.