BMW Group installs public ‘400kW ultra-fast charger’

BMW Group Korea (represented by Han Sang-yoon) has installed and begun operating the country's first public '400kW ultra-fast chargers' to maximise charging convenience for electric vehicle owners.

Leading the quantitative and qualitative growth of South Korea's EV charging infrastructure, BMW Group Korea has completed the installation of four 400kW ultra-fast chargers in total: two at the BMW Charging Hub Lounge near Seoul Station, a key hub, and two at the BMW Driving Centre on Yeongjong Island, Incheon.

The new 400kW ultra-fast chargers deliver two to four times the power output of existing 100-200kW fast chargers. Consequently, for 800V high-voltage architecture EVs such as the new BMW iX3, charging from 10% to 80% on an 80kWh battery takes just 8.5 minutes, enhancing the charging experience for EV users.

Notably, these ultra-fast chargers are designed to benefit not only 800V architecture vehicles but also owners of existing 400V architecture EVs. Although the charging speed of typical 400V vehicles is limited by the charger's current capacity, BMW Group Korea's 400kW ultra-fast chargers expand the maximum current to 500A, boosting the maximum available output to approximately 200kW. As a result, charging time for 400V vehicles is reduced by about 1.7 times.

BMW Group Korea has also placed value on the technical stability and quietness of the 400kW ultra-fast chargers. To address the inevitable heat generation issues during high-power charging, a liquid-cooling system has been applied in parallel, unlike the previous forced air-cooling standalone structure. This prevents overheating of the cables and connectors, maintaining high-power charging performance consistently without output degradation.

Furthermore, despite being ultra-fast chargers, the operating noise has been reduced to below 65dB, providing a pleasant environment for waiting customers and minimising the potential for noise-related complaints. Additionally, the overall system is equipped with protective features including ▲ output overvoltage and overcurrent protection systems ▲ leakage, cable overheating, and cooling fault detection devices ▲ and an emergency stop button, enhancing reliability.

Meanwhile, since the end of 2022, BMW Group Korea has been sequentially opening 'BMW Charging Stations', public premium charging stations, across the country. In 2023, it announced 'Charging Next', a mid-to-long-term charging infrastructure expansion project, and has installed a total of 3,030 EV chargers nationwide to date. It plans to continue quantitative growth, expanding to a total of 4,000 units by the end of this year.

Having established the 'BMW Charging Hub Lounge', the BMW Group's first lounge-style charging space near Seoul Station in 2024, achieving qualitative innovation by adding relaxation to charging, BMW Group Korea is setting the standard for EV charging infrastructure in the domestic automotive market this year by opening an 'ESG Charging Station', which adds eco-friendly value to charging.