Kia, KEPCO collaborate to build power ecosystem using PBV

South Korea's Kia Corp. and Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO), the state-run utility company, said on Thursday that they signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to establish a future electrification and power ecosystem based on PBV.

Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO), the South Korean state-run utility company, said on Thursday that it had signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Kia Corp. the previous day to establish a future electrification and power ecosystem based on the purpose-built vehicle (PBV).

PBV stands for "platform beyond vehicle," referring to custom-built vehicles designed from conception to operation to serve a specific purpose efficiently.

The memorandum of understanding aims to develop a PBV model optimized for KEPCO's operational needs to enhance work efficiency.

It also focuses on collaborating to develop future technologies like vehicle-to-grid (V2G) charging and plug-and-charge (PnC) to respond quickly to the rapidly evolving electrification and power ecosystem.

V2G allows excess electricity from electric vehicle batteries to be supplied back to the power grid using bidirectional chargers.

PnC enables contactless authentication and payment during electric vehicle charging, simplifying the process for users by eliminating the need for physical cards.

The two companies plan to conduct a pilot project utilizing PBV at KEPCO's Busan-Ulsan headquarters and collaborate on developing various solutions to improve operational efficiency.

Write to Jin-Won Kim at jin1@hankyung.com