Chaevi joins national R&D project to develop autonomous charging infrastructure at Busan port

Chaevi, an electric vehicle fast-charging infrastructure operator, announced Wednesday it will participate in the "Smart Port Mobility Platform Technology Development Based on Autonomous Driving" project, a 2026 automotive industry R&D initiative overseen by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

The Korea Automobile Research Institute and Busan Port Authority are jointly leading the project, with Busan city committing 45.46 billion won ($34 million) from 2026 to 2029 to advance port automation and unmanned operations. The initiative aims to establish a 24-hour unmanned operating framework at Busan port while improving logistics efficiency, operational stability and next-generation vehicle technology competitiveness.

Autonomous charging infrastructure — covering not just vehicle movement but automated charging as well — is essential for autonomous and unmanned port operations. The project centers on overcoming the limitations of existing port automatic charging systems that rely heavily on foreign technology, and on domesticating MW-scale autonomous charging technology based on the international standard Megawatt Charging System, or MCS.

Chaevi will be responsible for the full range of core technology development needed to build and operate MW-scale autonomous charging infrastructure. Its research and development work covers seven areas: MW-scale high-output dispenser design, MCS-based charging interface implementation, charging sequence management and safety control, high-output power bank and power conversion system construction, power scheduling and energy management, integration with charging operations monitoring and control systems, and charging station power infrastructure management.

Through this project, Chaevi plans to extend the charging technology and operational expertise it has built around road and passenger electric vehicles into the port sector, where large logistics vehicles operate. The company also aims to contribute to improved transport efficiency and productivity at autonomous and unmanned ports, while using real-world port demonstrations to enhance the field applicability and commercialization potential of MCS-based autonomous charging infrastructure — ultimately driving the advancement of smart port charging technology.

"Drawing on our integrated CPO capabilities spanning ultra-fast charger development and manufacturing through to charging infrastructure construction and operations, we have been expanding the charging technology and operational know-how we have accumulated into diverse mobility sectors," said Choi Young-hoon, chief executive of Chaevi. "Through this project, we will secure the core charging technologies needed for autonomous port operations and build a next-generation port mobility operating model that can be rolled out to various ports in the future, raising the technological competitiveness and field applicability of our charging infrastructure."

Meanwhile, Chaevi was recently selected as the first pilot operator for the plug-and-charge, or PnC, automatic electric vehicle charging and payment service being promoted by the Ministry of Climate, Environment and Energy. PnC is a technology that allows an electric vehicle and a charger to verify each other's information and automatically process payment using a pre-registered payment method.