State Grid to further efforts in smart charging network for EV drivers
Pub Date:2020-09-09 14:47 Source:China Daily
The smart charging network launched by State Grid Corporation of
China, which aims to promote data-sharing between various charging
companies, has covered as many as 756,000 charging piles by the end of
August, with a market share exceeding 88 percent, said the company, the
largest power utility player in China.
The open platform aims to connect charging pile companies and
facilitate electric vehicles. It has attracted more than 100 charging
pile companies to the corporation's charging network, which already
covers 26 provinces and autonomous regions.
It has become the world's biggest charging pile platform in terms of
numbers, and will see one million charging piles connected to the
platform by the end of this year to further facilitate the electric
vehicle users in the country, said Shen Jianxin, general manager of
State Grid Electric Vehicle Service Co, a subsidiary of State Grid
Corporation of China.
"The company will step up investment in the charging facilities as
the EV charging market is expected to expand thanks to the government's
favorable policies in 'new infrastructure,'" Shen said during the China
Electric Vehicle Life Festival held in Beijing on Monday.
The central government released its "new infrastructure" construction
plan in March. EV charging piles were included in the plan, making it a
key sector for national infrastructure construction.
A report released by Beijing-based think tank EO Intelligence said
the number of electric vehicle charging piles in China is estimated to
reach 1.66 million by the end of this year and 11.2 million in 2025.The
ratio of EVs to charging piles is expected to continue declining.
The country's EV charging piles surged by 56.9 percent year-on-year to 1.22 million, it said.
Sun Huifeng, president of CCID Consulting, believes the development
of the charging pile sector is expected to speed up to develop a 1
trillion yuan ($144 billion) market in the country.
Kou Nannan, head of China research with BloombergNEF's advanced
transport sector, said he is optimistic about the future charging market
in China as the EV fleet has been growing rapidly and the country's
charging pile sector will rise faster in the second half as the impact
of COVID-19 on new energy vehicles in China gradually diminishes.
State Grid Corp of China had said it plans to invest up to 2.7
billion yuan this year to add 78,000 charging piles. Together with
China's largest charging infrastructure providers, Qingdao TGOOD
Electric Co Ltd, Star Charge and China Southern Power Grid, State Grid
has also set up a company called Uniev that is focused on EV-related
services and covers information about pile locations, availability,
prices and user ratings.
According to Shen, the country, being the world's largest auto
market, has witnessed rapid development of the new energy auto market.
The number of new energy vehicles stood at 4.17 million during the first
six months this year, making it the biggest new energy auto market in
scale worldwide.
Shen said the company will further cooperate with auto companies
including BYD, BMW and Nio to come up with more products to facilitate
electric vehicle owners.
It has earlier forged an agreement with carmaker BAIC Group for
further cooperation on electric vehicle support facilities, including
building EV charging piles and battery-replacement stations, EV sales,
battery energy packs, green energy transactions and smart energy,
company officials said.
As many as 7,834 new public chargers were added in July in China,
with production and sales surging 15.6 percent and 19.3 percent
year-on-year respectively, figures released by the China Association of
Automobile Manufacturers showed.
The number of electric vehicle chargers for public use in China stood
at around 566,000 at the end of July, the China Electric Vehicle
Charging Infrastructure Promotion Alliance said.