By 2026, railway wireless power supply technology 'Korea-led' international standard creation

 

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the Korea Railroad Research Institute, and the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology announced on the 8th that they would promote the establishment of an international standard for railway wireless power supply technology by 2026. It is the first technology proposed by Korea in the railway sector, and international standards are established.

To this end, an international standardization working group kick-off meeting will be held on the 9th and 10th  on May, 2023 at the international conference room of the Korea Railroad Research Institute to establish the wireless railway power dispatch technology led by Korea as an international standard. This meeting is the official launch of a working group for the establishment of international standards related to interoperability and safety of railway wireless power supply systems.

The railway system has been a catenary power supply system in which power is supplied only through overhead lines. The wireless power supply system to be established as an international standard this time is a technology that supplies power wirelessly while a railway vehicle is running or stopped, and has the advantage of reducing the risk of electric shock on electric wires and eliminating dust and noise caused by contact with electric wires.

In addition, compared to the overhead line method, the installation of catenary can be omitted, so there are various advantages such as reduction of construction cost due to reduction of tunnel cross-section area, relaxation of restrictions in station location selection, and minimization of urban space separation due to catenary. Major countries such as France and Japan are developing related technologies.

In this meeting, discussions will be focused on the format of the coil, which is a key device for mutual compatibility and safety of wireless power supply during railway operation. Korea plans to propose an elliptical coil method.

If a wireless power supply system is built with the elliptical coil method proposed by Korea, the cost can be reduced to less than half compared to the circular coil method developed in other countries such as Europe.

The Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs expects that if the wireless power supply system is established as an international standard in the future, it will become the basis for commercialization of railway wireless power supply technology by securing mutual compatibility between railway vehicles and facilities for the wireless power supply system and creating a safe environment from electromagnetic waves.

Jeong Chae-gyo, director general of railway safety policy at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, said, “Through this international standard establishment promotion, Korea will lead wireless railway power supply technology and lay the foundation for preoccupation in overseas markets".

 

seunghee@news1.kr

 

Please refer to original article, https://www.news1.kr/articles/5038823