From "Refueling" to "Charging": The New Dynamics of the "Big Three Oils" Accelerating into the Charging Field

1.Background

As the world strives to change the way we use energy, the new energy vehicle industry is on a superfast lane, vigorously transforming the energy powering our drive. It takes China27 years to reach the 10 millionth new energy vehicle from the first one. While the time span is only 17 months from the 10 millionth to the 20 millionth vehicle. The speed is amazing!

The rapid rise of new energy vehicles not only means that the green mobility is on a steep rise, but also tells us that the facilities related to new energy vehicles, such as EV charging stations, must also adapt to the new trends.

2.Charging Infrastructure Development in Global Markets

Europe: On the European side, the new energy vehicle industry has always been bullish, their charging stations are built more and better, and the plugs for charging the cars conform to the same standards. Now, more and more people choose to buy new energy vehicles, the future status of the market is expected to rise further.

North America: In the United States, charging new energy vehicles mainly relies on public charging piles. In these charging piles, the ordinary slow-charging and the kind of DC fast-charging piles that can be fully charged quickly, the difference in their growth rate is particularly large. Tesla, in particular, is running much faster than anyone else in the fast-charging market. Also, the US is busy standardizing the look of the various charging plugs, and building more charging stations to make charging easier for everyone.

Japan: Japan also has its own set of rules in this area of new energy vehicle charging. Now ah, China and Japan are trying to find ways to make their respective charging rules more similar, so that the Japanese set of rules may also become more influential in the global market.

China: China is one of the best selling markets for new energy vehicles, and national charging rules are used in China, which makes charging very convenient. In addition, China is working hard to bring these rules in line with international standards, so that no matter where you have a new energy vehicle, charging it in China will be an easy and convenient experience!

3.Substantial development in charging infrastructure

In terms of charging infrastructure construction, remarkable achievements have been made. According to an organization in Europe called ACEA, more than 150,000 new public charging posts for charging electric vehicles were added to the EU in 2023, which brings the total to more than 630,000 charging posts.

ACEA also predicts that by 2030, the EU will have to have 8.8 million of these public charging posts to keep everyone charged. In other words, between now and 2030, the EU will have to install 1.2 million new charging posts every year.

4.National policy support

In order to facilitate the promotion of new energy vehicles, countries have come out with a lot of policies to help. On the EU side, their policies are mainly in the following areas: first, great efforts are put to build charging stations to make charging new energy vehicles more convenient. Secondly, they also stipulated a unified charging plug, so that no matter what brand of new energy vehicles you are, you can use the same charging station to charge. Finally, the EU also gives money or tax breaks to people who buy new energy vehicles, making it cheaper to buy a car.

GERMANY: The government intends to spend several billion euros over the next three years to build more EV charging stations, and they hope to have one million charging stations by 2030. Not only that, but the German government is also giving subsidies to people who install charging stations, whether it's companies or individuals.

Netherlands: The government has also launched two subsidy programs. One is called the “Private Charging Station Subsidy Program for Enterprises”, which helps enterprises to build their own charging stations; the other is the “Public Charging Station Subsidy Program for Heavy Transportation Vehicles”, which incentivizes public charging stations to those vehicles that transport big items. Both programs are designed to support more and better charging stations for electric vehicles in the Netherlands.

 

5.“Big Three Oils” accelerate the layout of charging and swapping

Against the backdrop of the global push for electric vehicles and charging station construction, China's “Big Three Oils”, namely Sinopec (CPDC), CNPC and CNOOC in the petrochemical field, have been busy accelerating their involvement in the industry of green mobility.

Sinopec is moving quite fast, their goal is to build a large number of charging and swapping stations, and they have already completed thousands of them, and they plan to continue to expand the scale, to become China's leading charging operator and the biggest 1st-party platform. EV charging stations of the petrochemical giant are not confined to urban areas, but the highway service area are not spared, so that new energy vehicle owners can also enjoy convenient charging during long-distance travel.

PetroChina is not to be outdone, they set up a new company, acquired other charging companies, and also cooperated with many companies, intending to build thousands of charging and swapping stations across the country. They are not only building charging stations, but also engaging in fast charging and swapping these new technologies, trying to provide a more comprehensive service.

CNOOC, although being an entrant later in the field, is also actively investing in the new energy vehicle charging and swapping business, intends to engage in the whole industrial chain.

In general, the “Big Three Oils” are using their own advantages, such as sites, funds, brands, to accelerate the layout of the charging and swapping services, want to stand firm in this new field and seize the market share.

Sinopec 

(1)The plan: to build an exceptionally large network of charging stations, original intention of 5,000 EV charging stations by 2025. Up to now, there are more than 6,000 charging stations in place, basically dotted everywhere in the country to enable car owners nationwide to charge convenien.

(2)Cooperation: Moreover, the petrochemical giant has carried out in-depth cooperation with MARUIKEL to jointly promote the development of the charging business. 

PetroChina 

(1)Plan: The company has formulated an aggressive construction plan in 2024, planning to build more than 1,000 charging and swapping stations, continuously optimizing and adjusting the scheme. 

(2)Actions: It has established specialized subsidiaries through reorganization and successfully commissioned light-storage-charging integrated supercharging stations in Shenzhen and other places, demonstrating strong action. 

CNOOC 

The company is an early player in the EV charging market and has been fully committed to building a complete "PV, energy storage, charging, discharging, and cooling" industrial chain. 

Through cooperation with MARUIKEL in building EV charging stations, it has further enriched its business layout.

6.Reasons for their efforts in the charging industry

The "Big Three Oils" are accelerating the layout of the charging industry for various reasons. 

First, new energy vehicles are gathering momentum with dwindling sales of traditional gasoline-powered cars. As a result, the old-school petrochemical business is becoming less popular and profitable, pushing “Big Three Oils” to quickly find other ways to make money.

Secondly, there are many new energy vehicles while the charging infrastructure is unmatched, many car owners cannot find a place to charge easily, this problem must be solved quickly.

Thirdly, the "Big Three Oils" believe that in addition to refueling, charging can also be added to their range to provide more comprehensive services, so they will be more competitive in the market, better capable of adapting to the current market changes.

Finally, actively responding to the national policy call and promoting the construction of charging infrastructure is also an important driving force for the "Big Three Oils" to invest the EV charging industry.

In terms of layout ideas, the "Big Three Oils" have different focuses. PetroChina is dedicated to specific regions, such as accelerating the expansion of EV charging stations in Xinjiang and other places and building charging trunk lines for electric heavy trucks. 

Sinopec's EV charging station strategy is extensive, covering many provinces and cities across China, forming a relatively complete "national network", especially concentrating on constructing a large number of fast-charging piles in highway service areas to meet the charging needs of long-distance travel.

CNOOC adheres to the concept of emphasizing quality over quantity, carefully building integrated energy stations that combine refueling, charging, and photovoltaic power generation, and opening charging stations to the public to improve the convenience and comprehensiveness of services.

7.Future outlook

Looking to the future, with the increasing awareness of environmental protection, the new energy vehicle industry will surely continue to thrive, and the charging facilities industry will also usher in unprecedented development opportunities. The close cooperation between MARUIKEL and the "Big Three Oils" in the charging field not only helps themselves expand rapidly but also aid actively in recruiting partners in the European and Southeast Asia regions, providing broader development space for customers. MARUIKEL is committed to helping customers expand market share and enhance core competitiveness. In this green mobility wave from "refueling" to "charging", the proactive layout of the "Big Three Oils" will inject new vitality into the industry's development, promote the continuous improvement of the infrastructure of the new energy vehicle industry, and jointly move towards a greener and more sustainable future.