Charzin, a company specializing in electric vehicle charging infrastructure, is planning to apply world’s first blockchain-based ‘charging-type outlet’ for electric vehicles to Guro-gu District Office’s Smart City demonstration project.
Charzin (CEO Choi Young-seok) announced that it signed a MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) with Guro-gu District Office regarding IoT (Internet of Things) and blockchain-based electric vehicle charging and energy P2P (Peer to Peer) business utilizing charging-type outlet at ‘Guro Smart City Vision Proclamation Ceremony’ that took place on the 18th.
Charzin’s charging-type outlet is a type of ‘electricity vending machine’ that has applied charging function to 220V electrical outlets. It can be used by converting outlets that are installed within parking lots of apartments and buildings. It has emerged as a possible solution to a problem of unauthorized use of outlets from increased numbers of electric vehicles, electric motorcycles, and electric bicycles.
Charzin is using Bluetooth-based ‘blockchain settlement module (wallet)’ instead of a wireless modem that requires monthly fee to minimize maintenance fee of operating its charging-type outlet. People can purchase ‘EVZ Coins’ through Smartphone application and store them into their Smartphones and send them to blockchain settlement module through Bluetooth function whenever they need to charge their vehicles.
Owners of buildings can install these outlets and set their own price for using electricity. Owners of these outlets can either change their EVZ Coins into money according to market price or use them to charge their vehicles.
Guro-gu District Office is planning to establish network for charging electric vehicles through its demonstration project and is preparing various services to expand Charzin’s outlets into blockchain-based P2P electricity transaction platform. Especially, it is preparing electricity vehicle charging and V2X (Vehicle to Everything, electricity from an electric vehicle’s battery used for buildings and houses) businesses that will be applied to Smart City, sales of electricity to small-sized solar generation businesses, and supply of electricity to vulnerable social groups.
“Because our outlet is a new product that did not have regulations by national official organizations, it took about 10 months longer to have it certified.” said CEO Choi Young-seok of Charzin. “We have finally certified our outlet after going through many difficulties and obstacles and Guro-gu District Office is the first one to apply our outlet to its service.”
Staff Reporter Ryu, Jongeun | rje312@etnews.com