Published 13 Aug.2024 17:12(KST)
Updated 03 Aug.2025 10:51(KST)
"If electric vehicle batteries are properly managed, fires can be sufficiently prevented."
As a series of electric vehicle fires have recently occurred, making EV fires a social issue, a domestic company has attracted attention by developing an electric vehicle safety management system that can be used to prevent such incidents.
PMGrow, a company specializing in electric vehicle batteries led by CEO Park Jaehong, will launch "WattSafe," an EV battery safety alert service that can detect early signs of battery anomalies related to fire accidents, on the 26th.
The "WattSafe" demonstration event will be held on the 16th at the Data Engineering Research Institute in Seocho-dong, Seoul.
Causes of electric vehicle fires are diverse, including battery defects during parking or charging, overcharging, and mechanical defects due to external impact. While various measures have been proposed for the prevention and post-response to EV battery fires, "battery safety management services" are emerging as a new alternative.
PMGrow believes that EV fires, like other automotive failures, are sufficiently predictable. The company has developed technology that collects real-time data from batteries to estimate and monitor various Sox (State-of-x) indicators such as State of Charge (SOC), State of Health (SOH), State of Power (SOP), and State of Safety (SOS) in real time.
PMGrow is recognized as a top expert in detecting and predicting abnormal signs in EVs by collecting data such as temperature, voltage, and current generated in electric vehicles, including their deviations, and analyzing them in real time using its proprietary AI algorithms.
PMGrow's safety management technology is based on the company's accumulated battery manufacturing and battery data analysis expertise.
The company has been manufacturing battery packs since 2010, collecting data from all its batteries since 2017, and since 2020 has been running battery subscription services for various vehicle types such as electric buses, taxis, and rental cars. To date, it has accumulated over 80 million kilometers of driving data across 25 vehicle models.
The "Safety Alert Service" launched by PMGrow enables the early detection of faults that could lead to fire accidents by monitoring and managing battery status in real time.
In March, PMGrow became the first company in Korea to receive EV battery performance diagnostic certification from TUV Nord Korea, a German quality and safety certification agency.
In May, the company launched the "WattEver" service, which collects various real-time data from electric vehicles, including battery information, via an onboard data collection device and uses its proprietary AI algorithms to analyze and diagnose remaining battery life.
This service is currently being provided through leading domestic used car platform company H and the largest used car auction specialist A, among others. The technology is also applied to detached battery inspections, providing a nationally certified (first private inspection agency) service called "WattProof," further demonstrating its technological prowess in battery diagnostics.
Park Jaehong, CEO of PMGrow, stated, "By obtaining real-time status information of EV batteries, it is possible to predict both remaining battery life and failures. PMGrow has already analyzed over 80 million kilometers of real-time driving data from 25 vehicle models through direct battery pack manufacturing and subscription service models, providing remaining life prediction services. The newly launched 'WattSafe' service also predicts battery anomalies based on this data."
CEO Park emphasized, "EV battery fires are essentially a phenomenon that occurs when responses to certain failures are delayed, so with real-time status information, it is possible to predict them at least several days in advance. Even in urgent cases, predictions can be made several hours prior, allowing risks to be managed in advance."
The "WattSafe" service can be accessed from the 26th by installing the "Safety Alert Service" app from Google Play Store or App Store, or by applying for membership through the website.
Upon registration, a real-time data collection device called "WattBox" is installed in the vehicle, after which users can monitor management status through the dedicated app.
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