The Gangnam District of Seoul announced on the 16th that it will pilot the installation of 10 electric vehicle charging stations using a road heating system. This is the first time such facilities will be introduced.
Gangnam District believes that the introduction of these charging facilities could address the limitations of the road heating system, which is only temporarily utilized during snowy winters. The district also expects that this project will help increase the insufficient number of charging facilities compared to the rapid uptake of electric vehicles.
The road heating system is buried about 7 cm below the road surface. It is used to automatically detect and melt frozen snow on the road through heating wires. Using this system to install an electric vehicle fast charger (50 kW) eliminates the need to install new power cables.
Installing a single electric vehicle charger incurs an expense of about 45 million won, but it is said that the cost can be reduced to 15 million won by utilizing the road heating system. Gangnam District estimates that if each of the 25 autonomous districts in Seoul installs just one electric vehicle charger using the road heating system, it could save about 750 million won.
Since November of last year, Gangnam District has been conducting a comprehensive survey and safety checks on the currently installed 73 road heating systems, preparing for foundational work at 10 pilot sections. The electric vehicle charging stations utilizing the road heating system are expected to begin operations as early as the 28th.
Gangnam District Mayor Cho Sung-myung said, "We will improve administrative services to make daily life more convenient."