Japan, China to Unify Electric Vehicle Charger Standards

August 23, 2018

Tokyo- Japanese and Chinese industry groups have agreed to unify their next-generation standards for fast electric vehicle chargers, Japan's CHAdeMO Association said Wednesday.

The agreement is expected to help Japan and China, which together account for 90 pct of the world's market for fast chargers, take control of a global standard for the device. Japan's electric vehicle exports are likely to get a boost as a result.

The CHAdeMO Association and the China Electricity Council aim to put a high-power charger capable of handling multiple vehicles at once, into practical use in 2020.

The two sides plan to exchange a memorandum of understanding on the collaboration in Beijing on Tuesday.

At present, there are several incompatible charger standards, including Japan's CHAdeMO, China's GB/T system and the Combined Charging System used in the United States and Europe. Each camp is competing to become a global standard.

Some 250,000 chargers were installed around the world as of April, including 220,000 GB/T chargers and 18,000 CHAdeMO chargers.

If the Japanese-Chinese effort succeeds in creating a global standard, Japanese-made electric vehicles can be exported without having to meet different standards and will be thus cost-competitive worldwide.

The Japanese and Chinese groups aim to spread their new standard to India and Southeast Asian countries in the future.

"We will welcome Europe and the United States if they wish to take part (in the new Japan-China standard)," said Makoto Yoshida, secretary-general of the CHAdeMO Association. Jiji Press