Self-Charging/Self-Healing... This is the Future of Automobiles

As soon as the light turned on, the blades of a stationary fan began to spin 'vigorously'. The transparent solar cells, made from a 'dream material' known as perovskite, immediately produced electricity as soon as they were exposed to light. Although the method of obtaining electricity through conventional silicon solar cells is similar, a more efficient material is used, allowing significantly more electricity to be generated even with the same amount of light.

20th morning in Seoul's Jung-gu Community House, Hyundai Motor Group's next-generation material technology is on display at the 'Nano TechDay 2023' event held by Hyundai Motor Group. provided by Newsis

On the 20th, Hyundai-Kia held the 'Nano TechDay 2023' event in Seoul's Jung-gu community house, showcasing the nano-based technologies that will be key to strengthening future mobility competitiveness. The inaugural event, planned in the heart of Seoul, aimed to effectively introduce materials and new technologies currently under development for future mobility applications, not just for currently applied vehicle technologies, to a wider group of journalists, as explained by Hyundai-Kia. Indeed, instead of vehicles, the venue of the day was arranged like a small museum to aid the understanding of the principles of future technologies.

The transparent solar cells unveiled by Hyundai-Kia on this day are considered a technology to reduce vehicle battery dependency and improve energy efficiency using perovskite materials. Named after the mineral discovered by Russian mineralogist Lev Perovsky in the Ural Mountains in 1839, perovskite has the advantage of being thin enough to be spread on buildings or vehicles unlike conventional solar panels, thereby saving on manufacturing and material costs. 

If the transparent solar cells, made up of small particles, are commercialized, they can be applied in all parts of the vehicle by pasting or painting, and generate electricity with significantly improved efficiency. It means that electric vehicles can self-charge while parked or generate a large amount of electricity even while running. This is why it is considered a new 'game changer' that surpasses electric cars represented by the Ioniq series and hydrogen cars represented by Nexo. 

Perovskite is especially noteworthy as a technology that can overcome the limitations of relying on minerals imported from abroad such as China and Southeast Asia for electric vehicle batteries. Lee Byung-hong, Project Leader of Hyundai-Kia Basic Materials Research Center, explained, “If China, which monopolizes the raw materials for silicon solar cells, controls exports, the price will inevitably rise. In contrast, perovskite can be obtained anywhere from the sea to the mountains, virtually with infinite resources, and can also be localized.”

The 'self-healing (self-restoration) polymer coating' technology, which allows the vehicle to self-heal damage such as scratches, like the Terminator resurrecting itself in a short time, was also revealed. The unveiled self-healing technology is described by insiders as being able to return to normal within two hours at room temperature without any external heat source or catalyst for recovery, and can repair the same damaged spot almost permanently. With technology that can restore the original state within a few hours even if a scratch occurs, vehicle owners can save on repair costs and reduce environmental pollution caused by the painting process.

In addition to this, Hyundai-Kia also unveiled technologies such as the 'oil capsule polymer coating' technology that significantly reduces component wear through nano-capsules, the 'pressure-responsive material' that identifies the user's biosignals with only pressure without sensors, and the 'transparent heat-reflective cooling film' that drastically reduces the temperature increase inside the vehicle. Lee Jong-soo, Vice President in charge of Hyundai-Kia's Advanced Technology Institute, said, "At the root of technological innovation, there was first material innovation, which is fundamental and a key link to industrial convergence. We will continue to proactively apply advanced material technology developed first in response to industrial changes to future mobility.”