SK Broadband develops eco-friendly rechargable remote control

South Korea's internet service provider SK Broadband has developed a new B tv remote control that can be recharged with significantly reduced charging time.

The new remote control adopted a supercapacitor (high-capacity energy storage technology) for the first time in the industry, the company said on Wednesday.

Last year, the company introduced an eco-friendly lithium-ion rechargeable remote control, not a battery-type one, for the first time among Korean telecom companies.

"The high-capacity supercapacitor charging method will reduce carbon emissions by 208 tons per year, while also minimizing battery waste. This is equivalent to the effect of planting about 31,500 pine trees," an SK official explained.

In addition, the company applied titanium-based materials instead of carbon-based ones to secure the stability of the new remote control.

Compared to carbon, titanium is a much more stable material when charging and discharging, reducing the risk of explosion.

It improves battery life by more than 10 times and charging times 10 times to about 15 minutes.

In order to verify the technology applied to the B tv remote control, SK not only completed its own tests but also secured reliability certification from external quality evaluation institutions such as APRO Inc. and RPT.

It plans to commercialize it within the first quarter of next year.

Write to Seung-Woo Lee at leeswoo@hankyung.com