Photo Image
<Korea Testing Laboratory will build Korea’s first test and evaluation facility for 2MW class ESS power conversion system at the Power New Industry Technology Center located in Cheonan.>

Next Square, a power electronics and information technology (IT) convergence company, became the first in Korea to install a test and evaluation facility verifying the safety and performance of the power converter system (PCS) for the 2MW class energy storage system (ESS), the largest power capacity in Korea, at the Korea Testing Laboratory (KTL) Power New Industry Technology Center. By doing so, the company has proven its ability to supply total solutions in new and renewable energy such as power, system, equipment, and software.KTL is also expected to introduce the nation's largest PCS test and evaluation facility first among domestic test and certification agencies, thereby making energy firms that seek global certification agencies, such as European CE certification, do so domestically.
 
Next Square (CEO Hyung-jun Kim) announced that it has won an order for the 'Establishment of an ESS 2MW-class PCS test and evaluation facility' project worth about 10 billion won ordered by KTL in the first half of the year, and that it is currently in equipment configuration with the goal of operation in the fourth quarter of next year. Next Square won this large KTL project by passing a 3 to 1 competition. The company received excellent evaluations in SW/HW scores such as AC/DC simulator equipment performance, integrated operation SW development, and regular maintenance service capabilities, choosing them as factors for success in winning the order. The company proposed Regatron’s 2MW-class bidirectional AC/DC simulator as the core component of the test and evaluation facility.
 
Geon-woo Park, Head of Next Square Research Center said, “Regatron’s equipment can be operated simultaneously by capacity of 1 channel or 2 channels in parallel, allowing us to configure our products with excellent price-performance ratio. In particular, the modular configuration offers flexible power capacity configuration and convenient maintenance.” Next Square has also configured the equipment to test various types of power such as LVRT (Low Voltage Ride Through), UVRT (Under Voltage Ride Through), and HVRT (High Voltage Ride Through) in accordance with international standard, in the AC Test Section of the test and evaluation facility. The DC Test Department has proposed the equipment configuration with an emphasis on securing safety for fire prevention.
 
Next Square especially plans to improve user convenience by developing an integrated operation SW for the PCS test and evaluation facility in a one-touch method. It has developed an operation software to automatically carry out a test with a test set value by selecting and clicking a specific target test on the user's PC screen and to even write a report, thereby providing an easy test work environment to the user. In addition, the company has developed operation software that allows a user to check the set values, results, charts, etc. for each test using the work PC without any restrictions during the test, by linking the control PC for test equipment operation and the PC for office work through the Internet.
 
Geon-woo Park, Head of the Research Center said, “Next Square is evaluated as a small but powerful company focusing on power electronics and IT solution manufacturing and technology, with about 90% of its employees as engineers. That we’ve won the order for KTL's large-scale project order means that we have been externally recognized for our software development capabilities." Next Square expects that when the test facility is put into operation in the second half of next year, energy companies will receive considerable help. Energy companies have been directly visiting global testing and certification agencies and undergoing product performance test and evaluations to gain approval to manufacture and sell2MW class ESS PCS. This is because domestic test and certifying institutes do not have facilities for testing and evaluation of super-capacity PCS.

“Companies are receiving global certifications abroad such as CE and UL for super-capacity PCS to build and operate ESS systems. This has made them spend a huge amount of wait time and costs for testing and certification,” said Geon-woo Park, the Research Center Head. He added, “We expect the PCS test and evaluation facility to start operating in full fledge in the second half of next year. If KTL operates the test facility, energy companies will not have to suffer unnecessary foreign currency expenditures and product launch delays in the future. As a result, other test institutes will also begin to introduce test facilities for 2MW class ESS PCS. To efficiently carry out the KTL project development task and improve quality, we will thoroughly and consistently manage the project schedule from start to finish, meet deadlines, ensure perfect quality, and efficiently use resources, achieving customer satisfaction.”

By Staff Reporter Sumin Ahn smahn@etnews.com