14 DAY TRIAL // China is scaling up efforts to green up transportation. Yesterday, the super power succeeded in opening its first automatic battery switching station destined for electric vehicles, in an attempt of raising the popularity and profit margins of the market.
China has struggled to satisfy the demand of the owners of electric cars, Business Green reports.
This initiative represents a big step towards a more sustainable infrastructure, and similar projects could be adopted and developed all across the country in the near future.
The strategy was implemented by China Southern Power Grid (CSG) in Guangzhou's Pearl River New Town. The developers counted on the help of a major American company, Better Place, that aims to make green cars a much more reliable option.
Their main goal is to allow car owners to replace the batteries with fully charged ones in only a few minutes. It helps them enjoy the benefits offered by their vehicle, while helping them save time and energy.
The project successfully adopted in Guangzhou appears to be only the beginning, since the company behind this initiative has other eco-friendly targets in mind.
They plan to expand and green up other three provinces Guangdong, Guangxi, and Guizhou and deliver their concept to three important cities: Shenzhen, Nanning, and Haikou.
The agreement with the American Better Place signed earlier this year, in March, gave the green light to 14 other charging stations and 2,901 charging poles.
Moreover, the American developers do not want to limit their influence to China's borders. They intend to work in partnership with the manufacturers of Renault Fluence Z.E. Cars to come up with efficient battery-swap processes in Israel and Denmark, starting next year.
At this point in time, Japan, Canada and Northern California also seem like attractive options, since the company is bragging about its current projects developed in these areas.
Nevertheless, they plan to exploit every single cent coming from the government, throughout programs that promote eco-friendly electric cars.
Also, Better Place plans to use $200m (€151.5m) to boost their operations and find other sources of funding and potential investors in this line of business.