High-power charging is the core proposition of the ultra-fast charging era: four government departments jointly issued a document, outlining a complete path from highway upgrades to megawatt-level ultra-fast charging for "how to build high-power EV chargers."
Recently, four government departments including the National Development and Reform Commission and the National Energy Administration jointly issued the "Notice on Promoting the Scientific Planning and Construction of High-Power Charging Facilities" (hereinafter referred to as the "Notice"), setting a target of over 100,000 high-power charging facilities nationwide by the end of 2027, and requiring that high-power charging networks built by new energy vehicle (NEV) manufacturers should in principle be opened to all without discrimination.
Boosted by this news, EV charger concept stocks rose sharply, with some hitting the daily limit. The "Notice" has injected strong momentum into the new energy vehicle industry, marking a new stage in the accelerated implementation of the ultra-fast charging era and sparking widespread attention and discussion across the industry. So, what are the core points of the "Notice"?
Priority: Upgrading highway charging
The "Notice" requires promoting the scientific planning and construction of high-power charging facilities with a power output of 250kW or above per station.
This requirement stems from the rapid growth of China's new energy vehicle fleet. Data shows that by the end of 2024, the national NEV fleet reached 31.4 million vehicles; the latest data from the China Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Promotion Alliance (EVCIPA) shows that as of May 2025, the cumulative number of EV chargers nationwide was 14.4 million. However, these are mainly low-power slow chargers, and the penetration rate of fast charging and ultra-fast charging is still in its infancy.
Given that traditional charging infrastructure is increasingly inadequate in terms of efficiency and coverage, high-power charging facilities have become a key solution to industry pain points. The "Notice" emphasizes focusing on "charge-and-go" scenarios, adapting to local conditions, adopting a moderately forward-looking stance, and scientifically and rationally laying out the development of high-power charging.
At the implementation level, the "Notice" emphasizes "precision": prioritizing the planning of highway service area construction, and first upgrading charging facilities with utilization rates exceeding 40% during major holidays to high-power levels. After all, during holidays and peak tourism seasons, surging demand often leads to severe shortages of EV chargers around highways and popular scenic spots ("hard to find a single charger"). Upgrading charging efficiency in these high-demand scenarios can effectively alleviate users' range anxiety and improve the travel experience.
Mandating automakers to open charging networks
The advancement of high-power charging infrastructure is closely related to the current state of the new energy vehicle industry.
On one hand, in recent years multiple mainstream passenger car manufacturers have rushed to launch models based on 800V high-voltage platforms and build their own charging networks. EVCIPA data shows that companies such as GAC Aion, Tesla, NIO, and Volkswagen CAMS have each deployed over 10,000 fast EV chargers; Li Auto recently announced that as of June 30, 2025, its ultra-fast EV chargers exceeded 15,000, all rated at 250kW or higher. This fragmented layout has led to significant duplication and redundant construction. Although some automakers have agreed to open their charging networks to other brands, such openness often comes with major restrictions. In response, the "Notice" requires that high-power charging networks built by NEV manufacturers should in principle be opened to all without discrimination.
On the other hand, models such as electric heavy trucks almost strictly rely on high-power charging. The "Notice" requires actively deploying high-power charging facilities dedicated to buses, logistics, and medium-to-heavy freight transportation. In fact, several manufacturers have already launched fast-charging and ultra-fast charging products specifically for heavy trucks. For example, in mid-April 2025, Huawei launched a fully liquid-cooled megawatt-level ultra-fast charging solution that can fully charge a 300kWh battery pack in just 15 minutes, precisely targeting the heavy truck sector.
Encouraging long-term leasing of charging stations
In terms of safe operation, the "Notice" requires charging operators to accelerate the construction of smart operation and maintenance platforms, striving for equipment availability of no less than 98%, and all high-power charging facilities must be fully connected to government monitoring service platforms; at the same time, strengthen equipment procurement management, conduct product certification (including CCC certification) verification for EV chargers and supporting equipment, and ensure compliance with quality regulations.
In terms of policy support, the "Notice" proposes increasing support for supporting policies such as land use, power supply, and fiscal funds: encouraging lease terms of over 10 years for charging stations to guide long-term stable operation; requiring power grid enterprises to strengthen power supply guarantees for high-power charging facilities, prioritize solving power capacity issues at highway service areas, reduce grid connection costs, and shorten power expansion cycles; encouraging research on subsidy and incentive mechanisms for the construction and operation of high-power charging facilities, and supporting eligible projects through tools such as local government special bonds.
Promoting integration of charging infrastructure with the power grid
Many industry insiders have expressed concerns about the potential impact of high-power charging facilities on the power grid. At a recent EV charging and battery swapping industry conference, Yu Zhuoping, professor at Tongji University's School of Automotive Studies, pointed out that large-scale adoption of ultra-fast charging technology could have a significant impact on grid stability; Shi Jianhua, Deputy Secretary-General of China EV100, also noted that as the NEV fleet grows, large-scale uncoordinated charging could threaten grid stability. He emphasized that promoting intelligent and orderly operation of charging infrastructure, achieving positive interaction with the grid, and even participating in grid peak regulation and frequency regulation is an inevitable future trend.
In response, the "Notice" requires power grid enterprises to conduct tiered assessments of the capacity for integrating high-power charging facilities, calls for establishing efficient interaction mechanisms between high-power charging stations and distribution networks, and encourages the deployment of complementary photovoltaic generation and energy storage facilities according to local conditions; through connection to new load management systems, using price signals to promote high-level consumption of clean energy by electric vehicles, and supporting charging operators in participating in electricity market transactions and demand response programs. It is foreseeable that integrated photovoltaic-storage-charging (PSC) solutions and vehicle-grid interaction (VGI/V2G) will become important trends.
Tackling megawatt-level single-charger charging technology
In terms of standards and technological innovation, the "Notice" proposes continuously advancing the construction of the high-power charging technical standards system, accelerating the formulation and revision of key technical standards covering equipment types, metering and testing, communication protocols, station construction, operation management, safety protection, digitalization/intelligence, and applying high-power charging standards by category to high-voltage platform passenger vehicles and commercial vehicles such as heavy trucks.
The Notice also calls for accelerating the domestic substitution of core components such as high-voltage silicon carbide (SiC) devices and main control chips, driving the overall upgrade of the charging industry chain including components, system integration, and operation services; for high-capacity, high-rate battery application scenarios such as electric heavy trucks, electric ships, and electric aircraft, it calls for research and pilot application of single-charger megawatt-level (charging power exceeding 1 megawatt) charging technology.
In fact, in the first half of this year, companies such as BYD, Huawei, Zeekr, and CATL have already entered the megawatt-level ultra-fast charging race, covering both passenger vehicles and commercial vehicles. BYD launched its "megawatt flash charging" technology, providing 400 kilometers of range with a 5-minute charge; Huawei is working with automakers such as Dongfeng and Beiben to develop multiple ultra-fast charging heavy truck models; Zeekr's first V4 ultra-fast megawatt station has been deployed in Hangzhou; CATL launched its second-generation Shenxing ultra-fast charging battery. At the same time, provinces and cities including Guangzhou, Hainan, Shenzhen, Chongqing, Fuzhou, Beijing, and Shanghai are accelerating the construction of "ultra-fast charging cities."
With the implementation of policies and collaborative efforts across the industry, high-power charging facilities will move from blueprint to reality, accelerating the reshaping of the entire industry ecosystem.
