KRISO launches South Korea's first fully-electric car ferry

□ On March 4 (Friday), the launching ceremony for the first fully-electric car ferry in South Korea was held at the pier of the Sapjin Factory in Mokpo, Jeollanam-do. The ship launching was held to announce and celebrate the successful completion of the hull construction of the electric car ferry, which is one of the national R&D projects promoted by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries.

□ The ceremony was attended by approximately 50 people including Booki Kim, the president of KRISO, Jong-shik Kim, the Mayor of Mokpo City, Woni Kim, Member of the National Assembly, Geum-joo Mun, Vice Governor for Administrative Affairs of Jeollanam-do, Chang-su Park, the president of the city assembly, Won-hee Han, the president of Mokpo Maritime University, Seongho Myoung, the president of Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute and In-suk Yoo, the CEO of YUIL Group. 

□ The event started with the opening ceremony, followed by the progress report on the launch, opening remarks from the distinguished guests, conferment of the launch certificate, ribbon-cutting ceremony, photography session, and a tour of the car ferry. The progress report was presented by Young-sik Kim, a senior researcher from the Alternative Fuels and Power System Research Division, who is in charge of the research project. The report included the significance of the development of the electric car ferry, the process leading up to its construction, and plans regarding its future development.

□ In succession, Booki Kim, the president of KRISO, delivered a welcoming remark and said, “I expect the electric car ferry to play a major role in improving the atmospheric environment of the coastal area. We will do our best to usher in a new era along with the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, Jeollanam-do, and Mokpo city to concentrate the capabilities of participating organizations and companies towards creating a great synergy.”

□ Hereafter, KRISO will continue to make effort towards completing various steps such as the follow-up process, conduction of test run, and the establishment of an integrated control system before the commercialization of the electric car ferry in 2024.