THE Lianhua Hill Supercharging Station, a flagship project of the local utility company, began operating officially Nov. 7. During the month-long trial operation, the station served nearly 600 vehicles daily, supplying them with 20,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity. Run by the Shenzhen Power Supply Bureau of Southern Power Grid Co., it is China’s first modular photovoltaic storage supercharging station that supports vehicle-to-grid (V2G) charging and a virtual power plant (VPP) system, operating on Huawei’s Harmony operating system (OS). Its 27 charging piles can allow 46 vehicles to charge or discharge simultaneously. The four supercharging piles, with a maximum discharge power of 2,160 kilowatts and the fastest charging piles in China, can charge a vehicle 10-20 times faster than conventional chargers, allowing a family sedan to reach full charge in 15 minutes or less. With a total capacity of 2,160 kilowatts, the station can store up to 4,320 kilowatt-hours of electricity in one hour, meeting the daily demand of 542 households. Qiu Kaixiang, a utility firm staff member, likened the supercharging piles to an express lane in a supermarket. “The arrival of more compatible car models will enable more owners to experience rapid discharging services, easing peak load burdens,” he explained. By allowing electric vehicles (EVs) to charge with excess electricity when it’s cheap, bidirectional charging could save EV drivers on electricity bills, storing excess energy that would otherwise go to waste. Qiu added that by connecting the station to the VPP platform, they can supply the grid at a capacity of 2,760 kilowatts during peak load periods. The station’s five 120-kilowatt fast charging piles operate on Huawei’s Harmony OS, facilitating future software upgrades for efficient management and power distribution as more power equipment integrates with the system. One out of four cars on Shenzhen’s roads, totaling 1.16 million, are new energy vehicles. (SD News) | 