State Grid Corporation of China, a State-owned electric utility company signs a cooperation agreement with the management committee of Suzhou New District on Dec 9 to establish a technological innovation center in the district. [Photo/WeChat account: snd-szgxqfb]
State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC), a State-owned electric utility company, announced its plans to establish a technological innovation center in Suzhou New District, Jiangsu province on Dec 9.
With the aim of promoting the sustainable development of new energy vehicles in China, the SGCC Smart Energy and Electric Vehicles (EV) Technological Innovation Center aims to construct itself into a State-level innovation base for new energy vehicle charging facilities for research and development (R&D) into cutting-edge technologies and the latest products.
The innovation center will be co-built by other seven companies in the district involved in different parts of the EV industry chain.
China plans to build 20 or so State-level innovation centers, according to the work guideline released by China's Ministry of Science and Technology.
There is no State-level EV charging facilities technological innovation center in China yet and it is expected that the Suzhou center is going to fill in that gap.
To date, SGCC has invested 28 billion yuan ($4 billion) in EVs, including 5,526 charging and battery swap stations and 56,000 charging piles in 273 Chinese cities.
In seeking economic transformation and upgrading, Suzhou New District has always focused on developing the new energy vehicle industry by introducing relevant companies in new energy vehicle R&D, design, manufacturing and aftersales services.
Qiantu Motor, Lishen Battery, Elringklinger, a Germany-based auto parts manufacturer and other auto-related companies have settled in the district.
State Grid Corporation of China establishes an urban energy institute in Suzhou New District in August 2017. [Photo/WeChat account: snd-szgxqfb]
