South Korea has opened a new charging hub in Goyang, about 20 km northwest of Seoul in the Gyeonggi Province. The new facility is the largest fast-charging station in the country.
Water, a fast-charging network division of Brite Energy Partners, built the new fast-charging in Goyang. Located at the Korea International Exhibition Center (KINTEX), South Korea’s largest exhibition hall and convention centre, the new facility can serve up to 46 electric vehicles simultaneously, all with high power.
To facilitate convenience, Water has divided the new charging hub into two zones and set up both in outdoor parking spaces of KINTEX Exhibition Center 2. The company has installed 14 units of 100 kW chargers and four units of 200 kW chargers in Zone A and five units of 100 kW chargers in Zone B, all with dual guns.
Goyang City said in a statement that the new charging facility allows users to charge an EV with a 77.4 kWh battery pack, such as the old Hyundai Ioniq 5 or the old Kia EV6, in about 40 minutes with the 100 kW charger or in about 20 minutes with the 200 kW charger. It did not state the charging level, but it is safe to assume it stated the values for 10% to 80% SoC.
Water has set the charging fee at 320 won (0.20 euros) per kWh. Yoo Dae-won, the company’s CEO, said that KINTEX attracts approximately 5.8 million people annually and the new 46 fast-charging points will help reduce the charging wait times. The new facility will serve not only electric cars but also commercial vehicles, such as electric buses, he added.
The new charging hub at KINTEX is part of Goyang’s broader plan to deploy 112 dual-gun fast chargers, including 62 units with a peak output of 100 kW and 50 units with a peak output of 200 kW, at 52 locations across the city. It expects the 112 fast chargers to serve 4,000 EVs per day.
Brite Energy Partners signed a deal with Korea Expressway Corporation last year to install 209 Ultra Fast Chargers at 46 highway service areas. All charging points will have connectors for NACS and CCS – a first in South Korea, says BEP.
watercharging.com, goyang.go.kr
