EV Charging Networks: The Next Infrastructure Boom
Building 10 million charging points by 2030 — and the battle for platform dominance.
✍️ James O’Connor – EV & Mobility Analyst
Powering the EV Surge
China is already the world’s largest market for electric vehicles, with over 30% of new cars sold in 2024 being EVs. But as adoption soars, the bottleneck is shifting from car production to charging infrastructure.
Beijing has set ambitious targets: 10 million public charging points by 2030, up from just over 6 million today. This expansion is not just about convenience for drivers — it is about building the backbone of an electrified transport economy.
National Push and Local Players
China’s central government has made charging networks a strategic priority, offering subsidies, land access, and preferential policies. But the market remains fragmented, with a mix of state-owned giants and private startups competing.
State Grid Corporation, the country’s largest utility, operates thousands of stations across highways and urban centers. Meanwhile, private firms like TELD and Star Charge are innovating with app-based services, real-time availability, and flexible pricing models.
The race is to become the dominant platform in an industry that blends energy, mobility, and digital payments.
Platform Economics
Much like ride-hailing or e-commerce, EV charging is evolving into a platform-driven business. Operators collect data on charging habits, battery performance, and driver preferences, creating opportunities for cross-selling services such as insurance, maintenance, and digital wallets.
Tesla’s network in China is already tightly integrated with its vehicles, but domestic firms are building open platforms that allow multiple brands to connect. This could position them as the default infrastructure for millions of EV owners.
Smart Grids and AI
EV charging is more than plugging in. With millions of cars connecting to the grid, China must manage demand surges that could strain electricity networks.
AI-driven smart grids are emerging as a solution. By analyzing traffic patterns, weather forecasts, and real-time energy prices, operators can balance loads, preventing blackouts while reducing costs.
Some pilots even integrate vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology, allowing EVs to feed electricity back into the grid during peak demand — turning cars into mobile energy assets.
Financing the Network
Building millions of charging points requires billions in investment. Traditional utilities cannot shoulder the cost alone, prompting the rise of public-private partnerships and fintech models.
Startups are experimenting with digital settlement tools to manage payments between energy providers, operators, and drivers. In a few cases, reserve-backed tokens have been tested for micro-payments in cross-border logistics hubs, where EV fleets require instant, low-cost charging settlements.
These experiments, while small, hint at how digital finance and green infrastructure are quietly converging.
Challenges: Fragmentation and Reliability
Despite rapid growth, China’s charging network faces challenges:
- Fragmentation – Dozens of operators use different apps and pricing models.
- Reliability – Reports of broken or offline chargers frustrate drivers.
- Urban-rural gap – Infrastructure is concentrated in major cities, leaving smaller towns underserved.
Addressing these issues is critical if charging infrastructure is to keep pace with EV adoption.
Global Implications
China’s push into charging networks has global consequences. Just as it dominates EV exports, Chinese firms are now exporting charging technologies to Europe, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia.
Turnkey packages — hardware, software, and payment systems bundled together — make Chinese solutions attractive to countries building EV infrastructure from scratch. This could give Beijing a say in global charging standards, much as it did with solar panels and 5G.
Outlook: The Next Infrastructure Boom
EV charging is no longer a niche service — it is the foundation of the next transportation economy. In China, the race to build charging networks is as critical as producing cars, shaping the balance of power in global mobility.
By 2030, the winners may not be automakers alone, but the platform operators controlling the flow of electricity, data, and payments through millions of charging points.
For global readers, China’s charging boom offers a glimpse of the future: mobility and energy fused into a single digital infrastructure.
