Korean-developed EV-charging road could be rolled out in China

According to Loh, it costs $300,000 to make one kilometer of road compatible with OLEV. This makes the system cheaper overall than internal combustion engine, hybrid and plug-in electric vehicles, with 100 percent return-on-investment in 13 years.

It also resolves issues related to parking and congestion problems, since land that would be used for charging stations can be converted to parking space, and will support the development of autonomous vehicles.

Both Loh and Yoon believe that if China takes the lead to get infrastructure to be in place for OLEV, China can be a global leader in the electric vehicle market and can set the standards for the world.

Richard Zee, chairman of Intelligent Wearable Technologies, who is helping Loh promote OLEV in China, also believes that the Korean technology has huge advantages over traditional plug-in electric vehicles.

"Currently, all electric cars such as Tesla, Audi and BMW need to be plugged in to charge their batteries," explained Zee.

"If the infrastructure is done and standards set, all electric vehicles can be supplied with continuous and dynamic charging on the road, eliminating the need for charging stations, which occupy valuable land, especially in large cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Wuxi."

"We can embrace a much greener and more sustainable world," Zee added.

Loh, Zee and Yoon hoped to find a Chinese partner to push forward OLEV at the CREC, which was held at Taihu International Expo Center in Wuxi on Nov 2-4.

The event was a platform bringing together experts and leading companies from more than 20 countries and regions including the US, Germany, Japan and South Korea to share the latest renewable energy products and to jointly explore opportunities in emerging smart energy technologies.

A commercial OLEV tram service has been operating in Seoul Grand Park since 2011. In March 2014, 12 OLEV buses started running daily between Gumi station and Indong area (a 35 km round-trip). More OLEV bus projects are under development in South Korean cities including Seoul, Daejon and Sejong. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]