Hyundai to develop unmanned robot for EV fire suppression

Hyundai Motor Group said on Thursday that it plans to jointly develop the unmanned firefighting robot vehicle with the South Korean National Fire Agency to extinguish electric vehicle (EV) fires in underground parking lots by the end of this year, with deployment starting next year.

In August, the group expressed its intention to provide firefighting equipment to the government through the Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy.

The National Fire Agency proposed developing a vehicle for extinguishing underground parking lot fires, based on the multipurpose unmanned EV platform that Hyundai Rotem Co. developed for military use, by equipping it with a water cannon and enhancing its heat resistance.

Both parties reached a final agreement on Sept. 3 to jointly develop the unmanned firefighting robot, following demonstrations of the multipurpose unmanned vehicle.

The National Fire Agency plans to deploy one prototype of the firefighting robot in the field for trial operation in the first half of next year and, after addressing any shortcomings, deploy one unit each to the four regional special rescue teams of the Central 119 Rescue Headquarters by the end of the year.

The firefighting robot will be equipped with a 65 mm water cannon, a thermal imaging camera, and a spray device, with the multipurpose unmanned vehicle as the basis, as requested by the National Fire Agency.

Hyundai Motor Group expects that once developed, the robot can remotely control firefighting efforts via wireless operation, effectively responding to fires in underground facilities where it is difficult for firefighters to enter or approach directly.

Additionally, Hyundai Motor Group plans to donate 250 "EV-Drill Lance" suppression devices, co-developed with TankTech, to the National Fire Agency by the end of this year.

The EV-Drill Lance is a firefighting device for electric vehicle fires that uses hydraulic pressure to drill a hole in the underside of a vehicle's battery pack and spray water inside to cool it, utilizing a "direct water injection method."

Hyundai Motor Group explained that the effectiveness of this device in suppressing thermal runaway fires in electric vehicle batteries was confirmed in a test conducted in collaboration with two domestic fire stations last year.

Write to Jin-Won Kim at jin1@hankyung.com