The Ministry of Industry, Trade and Energy on Tuesday launched an electric vehicle standardization forum to establish ground rules for five industries based on future technology, including wireless charging and water-cooled rapid chargers.

Formed by the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards under the Industry Ministry, the industry-academia-research cooperation platform will also lead standardization efforts in vehicle-to-grid technology, electric motorcycles and solid-state batteries.

Among the participating bodies, the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology will spearhead the standardization of wireless charging technology, which can feed electricity to EVs while they are driving.

South Korea has already proposed standards to the International Electrotechnical Commission for three core technologies for wireless charging, with the aim of achieving the international standardization of next-generation charging technology by 2024.

The Korea Smart Grid Association will lead the standardization of water-cooled rapid chargers. For future ultrafast chargers with power ranges of 400 kilowatts or higher, liquid cooling systems are more suitable than the existing air cooling systems. The association will develop new technology and safety standards for the liquid-cooled rapid chargers.

Also, the association will be responsible for developing standards for vehicle-to-grid technology, which connects EVs on the grid network and uses them as energy storage systems.

Meanwhile, the Korea Smart E-Mobility Association will be responsible for the standardization of electric bikes to help Korea catch up with Germany and Japan, which are dominating the e-bike market. Its priority is the development of standards for the shape and voltage of e-bike batteries, which are detachable.

For solid-state batteries, which have been called the next-generation batteries that will replace lithium-ion batteries, the Korea Battery Industry Association plans to draw up standards for safety and performance and take the initiative in international standardization.