The construction of China's first smart electric vehicle (EV) charging and battery-swapping demonstration zone has been completed in Jiangsu province. This initiative aims to reduce the queuing time required for EV charging.

The zone covers nearly 500 square kilometers in the cities of Suzhou, Wuxi, and Changzhou. With about 1,300 charging stations, it is expected to serve over 500,000 new energy vehicle (NEV) drivers, according to State Grid Jiangsu Electric Power Co., Ltd.

Previously, EV drivers often had to search for nearby charging stations. The new zone utilizes intelligent algorithms to assist drivers in locating the fastest and most economical charging solutions, including optimal times and locations of charging facilities.

The demonstration zone is expected to reduce the average monthly queuing time required for charging by nearly 50 percent, said Yuan Xiaodong, a technical director with the electric power research institute of State Grid Jiangsu Electric Power.

The demonstration zone model is expected to be expanded to the adjacent Anhui Province and Shanghai Municipality to promote the upgrading of the NEV industry in the Yangtze River Delta region, said Yuan.

China's NEV ownership level has continued to climb in recent years, with NEVs in use rising to 20.41 million by the end of 2023. To meet this growing use of electric cars, China continues to improve and expand the country's network of NEV charging facilities, which grew 65 percent year on year in 2023, reaching almost 8.6 million by the end of last year, according to China's National Energy Administration.

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