On November 17th, a streetlight was installed for testing at HANEOLNURI’s factory in Eumseong. It is equipped with blades on top of the solar panels that rotate with the wind. This is the ‘Wind-Solar Hybrid Streetlight’ developed in collaboration with Chungbuk Technopark.

As the name suggests, the ‘Wind-Solar Hybrid Streetlight’ uses both solar and wind energy. It is designed to generate power from wind when solar power is insufficient due to overcast weather, such as during the summer monsoon season, thus keeping the streetlight operational. After completing a three-month testing period, it will soon be released to the market.

CEO Kwon Taek-jo stated, “The currently marketed streetlights can operate for 6 days on a single fully charged battery, twice as long as competing products, but we are striving to develop a semi-permanent product.” He expects that the next-level evolved wind-solar hybrid streetlight will help increase the company’s market share.

A Latecomer with Outstanding Technology

HANEOLNURI, headquartered in Danyang, Chungbuk Province, has more than doubled its sales by expanding into renewable energy businesses. The company started with solar power generation system installations, which still represent its main source of revenue, but recently has been focusing on developing and producing solar streetlights. To support this, they established a production plant in Eumseong in 2020, and despite being a small-to-medium enterprise with about 50 employees, have assigned 9 people to the R&D center, reflecting CEO Kwon’s commitment.

HANEOLNURI shifted its focus from electrical construction to solar streetlights in 2015. During a preparation period of about two years, it acquired patent rights related to solar power system controllers and control methods from Yeungnam University, which enabled the company to start full-scale production in 2018.

 

 

HANEOLNURI’s Wind-Solar Hybrid Streetlight (left) and Monitoring System

Although HANEOLNURI was a latecomer to the market, its debut product attracted significant attention.

In 2018, when HANEOLNURI began mass-producing solar streetlights, negative opinions about solar streetlights were still dominant. This was because many solar streetlights installed in 2014 and 2015 experienced problems around that time. Despite the national policy to expand the use of renewable energy, it was impossible to keep installing streetlights that had a lifespan of only three to four years. Economic feasibility had to be taken seriously.

However, HANEOLNURI’s streetlights that emerged at this time were different. They had already proven long lifespan and excellent performance through various tests and evaluations. CEO Kwon explained, “At that time, existing solar streetlights used lead-acid batteries, but our products adopted lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries. Above all, existing products lacked functionality to control the power consumption of LED lights, whereas our products realized more than that.”

Based on its technological prowess, HANEOLNURI grew into a major player in the solar streetlight market in just three years. It has since evolved into a company possessing cutting-edge technology that no other competitors can match.

One of HANEOLNURI’s proudest technologies is its variety of sensors. These include sensors that detect human movement and sunlight, capable of adjusting brightness in six steps accordingly.

Surpassing the one-dimensional solar streetlight that merely produces electricity via solar panels to power the lights, HANEOLNURI introduced smart streetlights that reduce brightness when no one is around to save power, and efficiently manage batteries to extend both usage time and battery lifespan.

Moreover, there is a system enabling remote monitoring of the status of every installed streetlight nationwide through a smartphone, allowing immediate response when needed.

CEO Kwon stated, “Our primary goal is to increase domestic market share, and our secondary goal is to penetrate overseas markets.”

HANEOLNURI is preparing to become a comprehensive renewable energy solution provider.

2022 Korea Technology Commercialization Expo Award

HANEOLNURI’s rise as a manufacturer of highly technological streetlights is largely credited to the support from Chungbuk Technopark.

Since 2020, Chungbuk Technopark has supported technology transfer and commercialization, domestic trademark registration and certification testing, and the establishment of smart factories. Through this process, HANEOLNURI registered 12 proprietary technology patents, received the Small and Medium Enterprise Special Award in 2021, the Minister of SMEs and Startups Award at the 2022 SME Convention, and achieved first place in the solar power generation facilities category at the Electrical Construction Skills Competition.

Notably, the new wind-solar hybrid streetlight product jointly developed with Chungbuk Technopark was recognized for enhancing HANEOLNURI’s technological competitiveness, earning Chungbuk Technopark the Institutional Commendation in the Public Sector for Technology Commercialization at the ‘2022 Korea Technology Commercialization Expo.’

Nogunho, Director of Chungbuk Technopark, said, “To respond to paradigm shifts such as digital transformation and carbon neutrality, and to enter new markets, corporate competitiveness is essential. Our collaboration with HANEOLNURI demonstrates the role of regional innovation hubs in supporting technology commercialization.”

 

 

Reference :  https://www.seenews365.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=47280