Electric cars that are discharged in winter and make electric pads with metal fibers to increase efficiency.

[Anchor]
Electric cars, which are eco-friendly cars, are discharged or have poor battery performance, increasing energy consumption.

Researchers in Korea have developed a technology that can increase the efficiency of electric vehicles by making electric pads for electric vehicles from metal fibers.

Reporter Lim Null-sol reports.

[Reporter]
an electric car frozen in cold weather

It's hardened to the point that it can't open the door, so it doesn't move.

In fact, when the temperature drops, the battery's chemical reaction slows down, resulting in lower performance and increased energy consumption, eventually reducing mileage.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, fuel efficiency of electric vehicles fell 34% in an environment of minus 7 degrees Celsius compared to room temperature, and driving distance decreased by 57%.

Internal combustion locomotives can control the indoor temperature by utilizing the discarded heat of the engine, but electric vehicles require a separate system for heaters, which reduces battery performance.

However, domestic researchers have developed an electric vehicle electric pad that increases the durability and efficiency of electric vehicles even if the weather gets cold.

The key is a cotton-shaped heating element made of thread made of stainless steel wire about half the thickness of the hair.

Metal fiber fabric can be made evenly warm, and with excellent flexibility, it can be easily attached anywhere inside the vehicle.

[Lee Dong-yoon / KERI Lead researcher at Electrical Conversion Materials Research Center: Generally, threads can be twisted or pulled freely, but metal wires are impossible, so you can't use the existing weaver and you have to make a special weaver. We succeeded in mass-producing (surface heating) for the first time in the world and are currently the only ones in the world that can only be produced in Korea.]

The developed cotton heating element generates heat up to 30% higher than the conventional heating method, and the temperature can be raised up to 500 degrees as needed.

In addition, it is light in weight and has the advantage of stably generating heat even if damage such as disconnection occurs.

[Cha Seung-il / Director of KERI Electrical Conversion Materials Research Center: Starting with the semiconductor industry, if we expand to the existing ship and precision manufacturing industries, we think it will be able to expand to not only high-end industries but also to heat our daily lives.]

The research team has completed patent applications, standard tests, and performance verification for the currently developed technology.

The prototype will be made within the second half of this year, and we expected it to be commercialized within two years.

I'm YTN Science Lim Neul-sol.


Video editing: Hwang Yoo-min
Design: Woo Hee-seok