Gwangju Nam-gu Installs 'Phone Booth' Battery Stations for Electric Two-Wheelers

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Nam-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City, is the first local government in Gwangju and Jeonnam to install 'shared battery stations' where charging batteries can be exchanged at three public phone booths in the district to expand the supply and promote the use of electric two-wheelers.

Nam-gu announced on the 26th that it held a business agreement ceremony with KT Linkers Honam Headquarters at the district office on the afternoon of the 25th to install shared battery stations for electric two-wheelers.

This business agreement was promoted to improve air quality deterioration and noise caused by carbon monoxide emissions from internal combustion engines of two-wheelers and to expand infrastructure such as charging facilities as the government promotes the activation of electric two-wheelers as part of the Green New Deal project.

Both organizations plan to promptly install shared battery stations in public phone booths located opposite E-Mart in Bongseon-dong, opposite Cham Hospital in Juwol-dong, and in front of the entrance to Hyodeok Elementary School in Jinwol-dong during the first half of this year.

They also plan to gradually expand shared battery stations to 10 to 20 locations throughout the district by the end of the year.

Shared battery stations are expected to play a significant role in promoting the supply of electric two-wheelers by compensating for the current short driving range and long charging time of electric two-wheelers.

In particular, the current charging method uses a plug-in type connector installed at charging stations, which takes 4 hours to fully charge the battery, but the maximum driving range is only 110 km, which is far insufficient for the average daily driving distance of 200 to 300 km for delivery electric two-wheelers.

Moreover, there are difficulties in installing charging stations, which acts as a deterrent to purchasing electric two-wheelers.

On the other hand, shared battery stations with battery exchange type take only about 30 seconds to replace the battery, and since they utilize public phone booths, installing charging stations is also convenient.

Kim Byeong-nae, head of the district office, said, "As far as I know, KT Linkers is the first private company to sign an agreement with a local government and build infrastructure to promote the use of electric two-wheelers," adding, "We will make the environment for residents' health and life more pleasant by reducing air pollutants and noise."

Jang Young-min, head of KT Linkers Honam Headquarters, also said, "We will support the development of the electric two-wheeler related industry in cooperation with Nam-gu and do our best to build infrastructure so that electric two-wheeler users can easily exchange and use batteries."

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