China and Japan cooperate to unify charging standards and build charging piles, which may significantly reduce costs

Recently, the China Electricity Association decided to cooperate with Japanese industry associations to jointly develop the next generation of electric vehicle charging plugs. The consortium formed by Japanese auto industry giants Nissan and Mitsubishi announced the news in Japan.

China has so far followed its own standard GB/T. Through this cooperation, China and Japan hope to establish a global standard for electric vehicle charging. This will be a big challenge to the CCS plug currently followed in the European and American markets.

The new standard will be able to reach 500 kilowatts, ten times the power of the charging stations currently common in Japan. A car can be fully charged in ten minutes.

A Chinese and Japanese alliance also hopes the new charging stations will be universal. A memorandum of cooperation will be signed in Beijing on Tuesday (August 28).

The cooperation is supported by the Chinese and Japanese governments. Both countries' electric vehicle development strategies are aimed at grasping the direction of global charging standards and taking control of the initiative.

Determining a unified standard for electric vehicle charging worldwide involves not only the form of the plug, but also the charging standard. German manufacturers and Ford have established the CCS charging standard, under which direct current and alternating current can coexist. Volkswagen Group has begun building high-power charging stations, where cars can be fully charged in a few minutes.

A major obstacle is charging standards. Equipping charging stations with different charging systems is not much more expensive than just one program. Vehicle manufacturers currently deal with differences in global charging standards by equipping cars in different markets with different charging devices.

If global standards can be unified, it will be of great help in cost control. A research report released by UBS earlier this year showed that a total of $360 billion will flow into the construction of charging stations in the next eight years. With such a huge investment, even a small reduction in cost will bring huge benefits.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.