EV charging station makers direct attention toward wireless, fast types

The boom in the EV industry, especially in China, encourages manufacturers of charging stations to plan for next product upgrades.

The growing global electric vehicle industry spurs the development of charging stations, which in China is now moving toward wireless and fast charging technologies. The booming local EV market presents a major incentive as the country tops sales worldwide, according to EV-volumes.com, beating the US and Europe by a wide margin.

Based on estimates, up to 900,000 charging stations for EVs were installed in China in 2017. This number will climb as investment pours in from companies such as Shenzhen Aotexun, which plans to allocate $48 million for the setting up of charging points in Shenzhen in Guangdong province in the next one or two years.

Driving this expansion is the fast rate in the rollouts of EVs. The annual volume increase is projected to range from 35 to 40 percent in the next three years, according to Sohu News.

To take advantage of this captive market, local companies involved in EV charging station manufacturing will boost R&D efforts and are expected to follow the initiatives of key players such as ZTE. The company is the first to develop wireless EV charging technology in China, which entails burying wireless charging coils underground. This has been adopted by a bus line in Xiangyang in Hubei province.

The wireless technology can ensure easy and fast installation, limited space requirement and low maintenance cost, in addition to guaranteeing enhanced safety and reliability.

Fast-charging variants, which can replenish EV batteries for 20 to 30 minutes only, have also attracted makers' attention. These, however, have a high power requirement and so are priced much more than general types. The fast chargers are usually installed in large public areas such as those found in North America. Major EV maker Tesla set up 8,496 superchargers in 1,130 stations there. Each charging unit recharges within 30 minutes.

Complementing individual China makers' efforts are the initiatives of the government for the sustainable growth of the industry. The Standardization Administration of the People's Republic of China issued the National Standards for EV Charging Stations in 2016 to set the bar for high safety and compatibility in products made there.

Nevertheless, there have been challenges and more are ahead. Companies will be joining the charging stations line to benefit from the EV industry boom and local subsidies, and intensify competition further. Atpresent, most makers are beset by an operating deficit due to the relatively low utilization since the price and the maintenance cost of EV charging stations are still high.

In spite of this, local suppliers will keep bolstering output, banking on forecasts of annual sales growth exceeding 30 percent in 2018 and 2019.

About 200 companies make up the sector in China, and the majority consisting mostly of small and midsize businesses are locally owned and also involved in battery manufacturing. EV charging stations account for 20 to 30 percent of their shipments.

The key players include Nari Technology, the Xuji Group, Shenzhen Clou, the East Group and Hangzhou Zhonhen.

The coastal provinces of Guangdong, Zhejiang and Jiangsu are the main production bases in China. Shenzhen in the first has the largest number of makers. The other key cities are Dongguan, also in Guangdong, Hangzhou in Zhejiang and Beijing.

Mainstream EV charging stations

General kinds of charging stations currently lead local output for the EV market. These consists of wall-mount units and stands, which operate on constant-current or constant-voltage mode, and can power up EV batteries in up to 10 hours. Fast-charging variants support one-hour charging.

Products are broken up further by DC charging, AC charging and AC/DC charging types.

All releases have built-in safety features to protect against short circuits, overload and overheating.

Most suppliers comply with the 2016 national standards. Makers such as Invt Electric Vehicle Driver Technology (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd also follow the earlier guidelines under the GBT 20234 and GBT27930-2015 standards.

The main materials and components used in the production of EV charging stations include smart control modules, LEDs, charging plugs, smart meters, relays and circuit breakers. The majority of companies source them locally or turn to foreign providers when required.

Despite the stable cost of manufacturing inputs, suppliers reduced prices by 10 percent to counter competition. Most will continue to do so in coming months.

The products in this gallery have been handpicked by our China-based market analyst for representing current trends in EV charging stations from China makers.

60kW EV charging station has IP65 rating

This EV charging station from Dongguan Yangtian Electronic Technology Co. Ltd, IB-EVC120DC-80801 model, has 380VAC input voltage, 300 to 750VDC output voltage and 60kW power output. Its efficiency is ≥96 percent and power factor ≥0.99.

The IP65-rated unit has built-in safety features against short circuits, overheating, reverse and abnormal connection, while lightning protection is for Level C and Level D systems. The operating temperature is -25 to 55 C. The minimum order is 10 units and the delivery lead time 30 days.

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50 to 450VDC, 100A EV charging station with LCD

Hangzhou ZhongLing Technology Co. Ltd's model CS002 EV charging station comes with a 7in touchscreen LCD. It outputs 100A at 50 to 450VDC. The power output is 50kW.

The unit runs on 380VAC, 60Hz input and charges a 24kWh battery in about 1 hour. It operates in -25 to 55 C and is IP55-rated. The product has CE and IEC 61851 certification. An order of at least 2 sets is required. Delivery is within 10 days.

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EV charging station with 120kW rated power

Invt Electric Vehicle Drive Technology (Shenzhen) Co. Ltd markets EVC16-DR120K7P model, an EV charging station with 380VAC input voltage and 750V output voltage. The latter can be adjusted from 280VDC. The surge current is ≤160A and the maximum output current 176A.

The IP54 product with 120kW rated power has built-in leakage current and overcurrent protection, and operates in -20 to 50 C. It conforms to GBT 20234 and GBT27930-2015 standards. An order of 1 unit is accepted. Delivery lead time is 7 days.

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EV charging station provides up to 32A

Model EVA-07-220-B/L EV charging station from Shenzhen KSTAR Science & Technology Co. Ltd has 220VAC, 50/60Hz input, 220VAC output voltage and 32A maximum output current. It supports -30 to 50 C operating temperature. The IP54 unit integrates overvoltage, -current and leakage current protection. A minimum order of 50 units has a 20-day delivery lead time.

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