KEPCO develops electric vehicle battery charger

Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO), Korea’s top utility company, said it has developed two types of battery chargers for electric vehicles as part of efforts to promote the operation of eco-friendly cars. One of the two types is a high-speed charger that takes only 20 minutes to charge 80% of the battery of an electric vehicle. The other takes 5 hours to charge and will be installed for domestic use so drivers can recharge overnight, the company said. “The company will also develop a payment system that includes both electricity used at home and battery chargers (around the country),” an official said. The government has already announced plans to inject about 400 billion won (US$356.06 million) by 2014 to develop high-performance batteries and other related systems. (January 6, 2009)