A national standard Plug and Charge (PnC) certification system that automatically handles vehicle authentication, charging and payment once a cable is connected to an electric vehicle will be commercialized in February next year.
Hyundai Motor Group said it unveiled the national PnC certification system, built jointly with the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment and the Korea Environment Corporation, for the first time and demonstrated the service at a field demonstration held on the 1st at the Ansan branch of the Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province.
PnC is an international standards-based technology that allows charging to begin simply by connecting a charging cable to an electric vehicle, without separate membership authentication or payment procedures. The national PnC certification system unveiled that day was built on the PnC certification infrastructure that Hyundai Motor (005380) Group has operated commercially, the first such operation in Korea. In July, Hyundai Motor Group signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the climate ministry and the Korea Environment Corporation to build a domestic electric vehicle PnC certification system, agreeing to provide the government with its PnC certificates and the authority to issue them.
The government and participating institutions plan to run a pilot service on public chargers through December to verify stability and interoperability. They will then expand links between public chargers and private charging operators to broaden the scope of PnC use and advance the service. Based on the pilot results, the plan is to secure the stability of the certification system and begin official service in February next year.
A Hyundai Motor Group official said, "With the establishment of this national PnC certification system, a foundation has been laid for more convenient charging services without signing up for membership with individual charging operators or going through separate authentication procedures," adding, "We expect charging convenience to improve significantly for domestic electric vehicle customers, including owners of major Hyundai Motor, Kia and Genesis electric vehicles that support the PnC function."
