Doosan secured W500b pre-orders for lightweight EV cables

Doosan Corp., the holding unit of Doosan Group, said Monday it had secured a total of 500 billion won ($390 million) in preorders since 2019 for its lightweight patterned flat cable — or PFC — from corporate clients around the world.

The PFC is a next-generation cable system pioneered by Doosan that can replace traditional cable harnesses in electric devices by reducing the weight, volume and complexity significantly, especially for electric vehicles.

The PFC combines multiple cables into a thin film through a unique roll-to-roll manufacturing process. This change allows for larger batteries due to weight reduction and extra room.

"Typically, a 4-meter battery car would need three separate 1.5-meter cables. But with PFC, we can produce a single, 3-meter thin cable," a Doosan official said.

The company envisions a wider application of PFC, replacing wiring harnesses in vehicle components such as the doors, seats, and roof. The adoption of this system could potentially slash weight and volume by over 80 percent, enhancing EV performance and costs overall.

The reduction is vital given that EVs are approximately 30 percent heavier than their internal combustion counterparts, a factor that influences safety, durability and parking restrictions in places like Korea with parking towers that impose a maximum weight limit.

Market tracker Markets & Markets forecast that PFC might displace the wiring harness market for EVs, growing into a market worth almost 8 trillion won by 2026.

To meet growing demand, Doosan built a PFC production line in Hai Duong, Vietnam last year and is currently expanding the plant to more than double its capacity. The company is also focusing on improving yields, reducing costs, and expanding timely volumes to achieve its PFC sales targets of 50 billion won in 2024 and 100 billion won in 2025.