The consumer base for electric passenger vehicles has shifted comprehensively from early commercial vehicle owners to private car owners. Currently, private owners of new energy vehicles commonly experience range anxiety.
“How to provide convenient charging networks for private owners of electric vehicles” has become a focal point for national and provincial governments in formulating policies to boost the construction of public charging infrastructure for new energy vehicles in 2022. Destination charging is receiving significant attention because it enables electric vehicle owners to achieve charging freedom. Its “plug-in-and-charge” feature can best meet owners’ demands for “convenience” charging.
Destination charging has become the mainstream charging scenario. What is destination charging?
Destination charging refers to the construction of charging infrastructure within the daily living areas of electric vehicle owners, such as public charging stations installed in parking lots in residential communities, office areas, industrial parks, commercial areas, medical districts, and service areas. To support the sustainable development of the electric vehicle industry and accelerate the construction of public charging infrastructure, the national and provincial governments have successively issued relevant policies and provided guidance on issues such as the uneven development of public charging facilities and the improvement of charging convenience. The development of destination charging market has received significant attention. In January 2022, the National Development and Reform Commission issued the “Implementation Opinions on Further Improving the Service Guarantee Capacity of Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure” (referred to as the “Implementation Opinions”).
Regarding the construction and installation of charging facilities in residential communities, private cars represent a crucial domain for the future scale development of electric transportation. In December 2021, the market penetration rate of new energy passenger vehicles reached 20.6%, highlighting the increasing demand for charging facilities in residential communities. The “Implementation Opinions” propose further strengthening departmental coordination and implementation responsibilities, requiring property management units and homeowners’ committees to actively cooperate. Existing residential communities should actively undertake charging pile renovations, while newly constructed residential communities must strictly adhere to the requirements for supporting facilities. The standard for reserving installation conditions entails constructing power supply facilities such as pipelines and bridge frames to parking spaces, with enhanced supervision and management over planning approval and completion acceptance.
（2）Regarding the construction and installation of public charging facilities, currently, China has 810,000 public charging piles, with over 70% of the scale located in the top ten regions such as Guangdong and Shanghai, while the construction of charging infrastructure in counties and townships is insufficient. There are 13,800 charging piles on expressways in China, mainly concentrated in regions such as the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Yangtze River Delta, and the Pearl River Delta, but full coverage has not yet been achieved.Cábla EV
The “Implementation Opinions” propose scientifically formulating the “14th Five-Year Plan” for charging infrastructure to promote the standardized and orderly development of charging facilities.
For urban public charging networks, reasonable layout and comprehensive considerations are necessary; for charging networks in counties and townships, efforts should be accelerated to fill construction gaps; for charging piles on expressways, it is required to include fast charging stations in the supporting infrastructure scope of expressway service areas; for charging piles within units and industrial parks, efforts should be made to accelerate supporting construction or reserve installation conditions, and external openness should be encouraged. Residential communities, units, and industrial parks are core service areas for destination charging services.
In the “Implementation Opinions,” both the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration not only outline plans for the construction of high-speed fast charging stations but also emphasize the addition of public charging piles in residential areas. This effectively serves as an essential guarantee for private owners of new energy vehicles to implement green travel policies and efficiently enhances the “convenience” of charging for new energy vehicle owners. The “Plan” clearly states the goal of constructing an electric vehicle charging facility network primarily based on residential and office charging, supplemented by public fast charging.
This aims to create a service system that is complementary, efficient, intelligent, and safe, with charging points following the vehicle, scenes complementing each other, and convenience and efficiency being prioritized.
With the guidance of relevant policies and increasing market demand, the construction of charging facilities in office parks and residential communities, such as office buildings, will present a rapidly growing market opportunity.
As for destination charging solutions, there are currently solutions such as smart AC charging piles and low-power smart DC charging piles tailored to destination charging scenarios. In urban destination charging, a pattern where slow charging is predominant, with fast charging as a supplement, has emerged. Constructing destination charging stations equipped with AC slow charging piles or low-power DC piles eliminates the need for additional power capacity expansion.
By utilizing existing loads, charging piles/stations can be established, and with appropriate charging speeds, intelligent sequential charging, shared charging, scheduled charging, and dynamic power adjustment charging can meet the basic needs of vehicle owners for destination charging. Compared to the construction of high-power public fast charging stations, destination charging stations have lower investment costs. The characteristics of different destination charging scenarios include: (1) Community and office buildings are good scenarios for destination charging management, characterized by long single stays (6-8 uair an chloig), stable vehicle behavior, and, in most cases, the avoidance of gasoline vehicles occupying charging spots.Sraith Nascóirí EV HV
Next is the residential community scenario, where vehicle behavior is stable (stays for over 10 uair an chloig), the number of new energy vehicles is relatively easy to track, and the ratio of vehicles to charging points can be accurately controlled. Operational efficiency is guaranteed. However, due to relatively tight public parking spaces, the scenario is enclosed and lacks external traffic.
Lastly, the supermarket scenario is characterized by heavy vehicle traffic, short stays (2-3 uair an chloig), and tight parking spaces, which often result in gasoline vehicles occupying charging spots, leading to unstable overall average charging levels. In the long run, as the number of new energy vehicles increases, the deployment and operation of 20-30kW low-power DC charging piles would yield better results.
As evident, destination charging can effectively provide a convenient charging network for private owners of new energy vehicles and has gradually become a mainstream charging scenario. Destination charging can help vehicle owners achieve charging freedom, meet the demand for “plug-in-and-charge” convenience to the greatest extent, and represents a new trend in future charging.
