Each new charging station will have at least two ultra-fast chargers with a power of 400 kW. In total, the expansion will add 123 chargers along South Korea’s highways, including 62 400 kW, 46 200 kW, and 15 100 kW. With 400 kW chargers accounting for more than half of the total, the expansion will particularly benefit EV customers with 800 volt and higher voltage architectures.
All 123 chargers will offer NACS and DC Combo connectors. Water says Tesla electric vehicles will be able to charge faster than before through NACS, with power output reaching approximately 120 to 200 kW, depending on the model.
The company is building new charging stations in the Gyeonggi, Chungcheong, Gangwon and Gyeongsang regions. The first site, located at the Cheongju rest area on the Seoul-bound side of the Gyeongbu Expressway, is South Korea’s first charging station to offer 400 kW chargers at a highway rest area. In addition to the two 400 kW chargers, it has two 200 kW chargers.
As a promotional offer to celebrate the launch, Water members will be able to charge their electric vehicles at the 23 new roadside charging stations at a rate of 294 won (0.19 euros) per kWh for one year from the opening date of each station. The company says this is about 100 won (0.07 euros) per kWh less than the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment’s roaming rate for chargers of 200 kW or more power.
Once the 23 new roadside charging stations are open, Water will have a network of 397 chargers at 73 rest areas along South Korea’s highways. “Highway rest areas are essentially the only places where charging speed directly affects driver time, which is why we chose to participate in Korea Expressway Corporation’s infrastructure expansion project by deploying the highest power chargers available,” said Yoo Dae-won, head of Electric Vehicle Charging Business Unit (Water) at Bright Energy Partners.
watercharging.com (link in Korean)
