Known as on-line electric vehicle (OLEV), the vehicle powered by electricity from an electrical charging strip planted about 5cm under the road surface, is in pilot operation at the theme park. The Seoul Grand Park has replaced the shuttle trains called ‘elephant train’ that run on diesel with OLEV.
The OLEV developed by the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) is charged wirelessly over a 400m long stretch of electrical strip and runs an additional 400m on the charged battery.
The electrical strip creates a magnetic field that generates magnetic force. The magnetic force is sent wirelessly to the vehicle and converted into electricity, which is then used to power the vehicle. At the Seoul Grand Park, the OLEV will service a 2.2km-long circular route.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government made the decision to deploy OLEV at the Seoul Grand Park last August even as KAIST was developing the prototype of the electric vehicle. The first OLEV was built and the electrical strips were laid in January. Numerous safety evaluations and test runs to improve efficiency have been conducted since then.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to introduce OLEVs as part of its public bus transportation system. With buses meeting about 30% of the transportation demand and median bus lanes in place in 25 areas totaling 90.2km, wirelessly charged electric buses are an attractive green alternative for Seoul.
The Seoul Metropolitan Government said that the KAIST-developed OLEV is commercially viable because of the lighter battery required and because it does not require an extended standby time for charging.
Many countries have shown interest in the OLEV development as commercialization of similar vehicles failed in the US and elsewhere, according to the city government.
The city government plans to lay the foundation for the introduction of OLEV this year. Projects for this year include deciding the routes and building charging stations.
In an effort to improve air pollution and curb greenhouse gas emissions, the city plans to deploy green cars in all its public transportation systems, including taxis and buses, by 2020. The city government’s fleet of official cars will also be replaced by green cars.
