China’s first automated battery switching station for electric cars opened yesterday, forming the start of a network that could eventually stretch across the entire country.
The station was installed in Guangzhou’s Pearl River New Town by China Southern Power Grid (CSG) and Better Place, a high profile US firm that is aiming to increase uptake of electric vehicles (EVs) by enabling drivers to swap empty batteries for fully-charged ones in a matter of minutes.
Guangzhou is the starting point for EV network infrastructure in the five southern Chinese provinces served by CSG, but the company has deals in place with other provinces including Guangdong, Guangxi, and Guizhou, as well as cities such as Shenzhen, Nanning, and Haikou.
CSG signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement with Better Place in March to develop EV infrastructure in China and already has 14 charging stations and 2,901 charging poles in operation.
Led by founder and chief executive Shai Agassi, Better Place has raised more than $750m of equity financing since 2007, the latest $200m tranche coming last month.
The company plans to launch commercial battery-swap operations with Renault Fluence Z.E. cars in Denmark and Israel early next year and an initial Australian service in the second quarter of 2012 starting in Canberra.
As well as China, it has projects in development in Northern California, Japan, Ontario, Canada, and Hawaii.
It plans to use the latest $200m to make further inroads into Western Europe to take advantage of government policy supporting electric cars and strong interest in public-private partnerships.
“We are entering the next phase of growth for our company where we prove that our solution works, that it’s in demand, and that it scales, as we begin to push into new markets and attract new investors and new partners,” Agassi said at the time.
