SKT Protects Large Gas Facilities with Next-Generation Quantum Technology

(Photo from the top left clockwise) Jin-hyo Park, Head of Security Business Division at SK Telecom, Young-gyu Kim, Director of Gas Safety Research Institute at Korea Gas Safety Corporation, Kyu-jong Hwang, CEO of Quantum Sensing, and Soo-yeol Park, CEO of Korea Plant Management, are each holding the signed agreement from their respective homes or offices.

[Asia Economy Reporter Seulgina Cho] ‘Quantum technology’ is being utilized to detect gas leaks in large gas facilities in real time, preventing major accidents.

On the 15th, SK Telecom signed a business agreement with the Korea Gas Safety Corporation Gas Safety Research Institute, gas safety specialist company Korea Plant Management Co., Ltd., and quantum and photonics sensing specialist company Quantum Sensing Co., Ltd. to commercialize next-generation gas safety solutions using ‘quantum sensing’.

‘Quantum sensing’ is a technology that measures photons, the smallest units of energy that cannot be divided further, to detect objects or analyze substances. The ‘quantum-based gas sensing solution’ emits light into facilities and analyzes the wavelength of the reflected light to measure gas leak presence and concentration, transmitting the risk information to a real-time control center.

The commonly used ‘IR (Infrared Ray)-based gas leak detectors’ for monitoring large gas facilities have short detection ranges, cannot measure gas concentration, and cannot detect small amounts of gas leaks. When a gas leak is suspected, observers must verify the leak at close range, which is a limitation.

In contrast, the quantum-based gas sensing solution visualizes the presence and concentration of gas leaks up to a distance of 150 meters and transmits this information to a real-time control center, allowing intuitive identification of leak locations. It supports remote monitoring of large-scale gas facilities over vast areas and enables accurate judgment of actual gas leak presence and leak points.

SK Telecom plans to pilot the quantum-based gas sensing solution within this year at large-scale gas facilities in Korea in collaboration with the Korea Gas Safety Corporation.

Additionally, SK Telecom is developing a ‘drone-mounted quantum-based gas sensing solution’ to observe facilities that are dangerous for humans to approach. They plan to upgrade it into a dual or triple safety system where AI analyzes high-definition real-time data remotely via 5G to prevent even minor mistakes. They are also considering linking this with dispatch security services such as ADT Caps.

SK Telecom has been developing quantum technology, a core security technology of the 5G era, in two fields: ‘quantum cryptography communication,’ which creates unbreakable encryption using quantum properties, and ‘quantum sensing.’ This quantum-based gas sensing solution is the second outcome of ‘quantum sensing’ technology following the ‘single-photon LiDAR’ that detects objects outside the visible range for autonomous vehicles.

Jinhyo Park, Head of SK Telecom’s Security Business Division and CEO of ADT Caps, said, “Through the quantum-based gas sensing solution, we have taken a step closer to building a safety net that makes society safer through technology,” adding, “We will develop various social safety services applying quantum sensing technology.”

Youngkyu Kim, Director of the Gas Safety Research Institute at Korea Gas Safety Corporation, stated, “The quantum-based gas sensing solution that detects gas leaks and measures concentration remotely contributes to resolving difficulties in current inspections and checks,” and added, “We will shorten inspection times and improve accuracy to realize efficient safety management.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.