Henan, Guangdong drive for full coverage with EV charging stations

Central China's Henan province will extend coverage of vehicle－charging infrastructure to all of its highway service areas by the end of June, the provincial transport bureau said.

A plan for green travel released in November said that the province would upgrade charging stations, power lines and power supply facilities in all of its highway service areas.

Businesses were invited to install new, fast-charging stations with higher power output and to upgrade older, slower stations. All charging stations should be capable of outputs in excess of 80 kilowatts.

To gear up for 100 percent coverage, the plan envisaged that by the end of last year, the province would first reach 70 percent coverage, including in service areas along the province's national-level highways and highway service areas around popular scenic spots.

"Henan province aims to enter the first echelon in terms of charging service on highways," the plan stated.

It listed the requirements for the construction and operation of charging stations.

For example, there should be a minimum of four stations in each highway service area with more added according to demand.

The number of charging stations in newly built and renovated service areas should amount to no less than 40 percent of the total number of parking spaces.

Businesses operating charging stations should have online facility management platforms to tackle problems in a timely manner, and to be able to perform remote control functions.

Elsewhere in South China's Guangdong province, 390 newly built stations were providing 85 percent coverage at highway service areas as of October, China Electric Power News reported.

Liu Zhuowei, who works in Shenzhen, told the publication that he now felt more secure about driving to his hometown in Hunan province, 600 kilometers away.

"It is more convenient for people like me who drive electric cars. I don't worry about running out of battery anymore because there are charging stations in nearly every highway service area," he was quoted as saying last month.

By the end of this year, Guangdong plans to have about 180,000 charging facilities, as the province will continue to promote the construction of smart charging stations and offer stronger support for the development of new energy vehicles.