SK Inno-SK Rent-a-Car Jointly Promote 'Safe and Long-lasting Battery Solution' for Electric Vehicle Batteries

Joint Development by Battery Suppliers and Electric Rental Car Operators
Continuous Battery Monitoring to Determine Remaining Life and Preemptively Detect and Analyze Abnormal Signs

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoonju Hwang] SK Innovation and SK Rent-a-Car have decided to collaborate to create a solution that delivers the highest value of electric vehicle batteries: 'safe and long-lasting use.' To this end, they announced on the 30th that they have established a system to analyze real-time usage data of batteries installed in SK Rent-a-Car vehicles.

While there has been considerable cooperation between electric vehicle manufacturers and battery companies, this is the first known collaboration between a battery company and a rental car operator with the goal of achieving ‘safe and long-lasting battery use.’

The two companies combined SK Innovation’s battery analysis capabilities, accumulated as an electric vehicle battery manufacturer, with SK Rent-a-Car’s integrated vehicle management solution, 'SmartLink,' to develop this solution. Through this solution, real-time battery usage data is analyzed to predict battery lifespan and detect abnormal signs such as overheating. The companies will pilot this solution in long-term rental electric vehicles operated by SK Rent-a-Car.

Accordingly, battery status changes occurring in all situations where electric vehicles are driven, stopped, and charged will be analyzed in real time 24 hours a day, enabling monitoring of the entire lifecycle of batteries installed in electric vehicles. Based on this analysis, they plan to expand it into an automatic management system that can always maintain electric vehicle batteries in optimal condition.

SK Innovation plans to provide the established management system to rental car operators, delivery businesses, and commercial vehicle operators such as taxi and bus companies. Operators will be able to easily manage vehicles by grasping their status at a glance and accurately know information such as remaining battery life, thereby improving vehicle management efficiency.

SK Rent-a-Car declared participation in the Korean version of the Clean Vehicle Transition 100 (K-EV100) in March this year and announced plans to convert all vehicles it operates to 100% eco-friendly vehicles by 2030, thus viewing the future utilization value of this solution highly.

SK Rent-a-Car plans to integrate this solution with its self-developed integrated vehicle management system, SmartLink. Through this, it is expected not only to optimally manage the numerous electric vehicles it will operate in the future but also to improve management efficiency by accurately measuring residual value during the resale process.

SK Innovation has secured business capabilities to expand into various BaaS (Battery as a Service) by continuously developing and applying data analysis capabilities established through the battery monitoring pilot service.

The two companies launched this service based on their cooperation since the first half of 2020 and plan to expand it into an AI (Artificial Intelligence)-based service that autonomously advances data analysis algorithms in the future.

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