Huawei Technologies has announced plans to install 100,000 ultrafast EV chargers across China this year. It includes units more than twice as fast as the ones by Tesla, which has been a dominant player in the EV market.

In the parking lot of a shopping center in Shenzhen, Huawei’s home city, you can find a charging station that advertises 1 kilometer of range for every second of charging. Notably, the Huawei logo is prominently displayed with “600kW” indicated beneath it.

The charging stations by Huawei will include units that are more than twice as fast as the current standard, offering a significant leap forward in charging technology. The superfast chargers boast an output range of 600kW, surpassing Tesla’s supercharger 250kW in China. Such advancements promise a rapid charge of 200 kilometers in just 5 minutes, marking the highest charging speed currently available in the market.

The proposed 600 kW chargers are poised to reduce charging times. Using an 80-kilowatt-hour battery with a 600 km range as a benchmark, these chargers could theoretically complete a full charge in approximately 8 minutes, depending on various factors like temperature and battery capacity.

Huawei has overcome technical challenges such as increased heat generation through an innovative cooling system utilizing liquid coolant, a departure from the fan-based cooling prevalent in most chargers.

China’s public charging infrastructure, which had 2.7 million stations by the end of 2023, is expected to grow by 40% in 2024. However, the availability of ultrafast EV chargers remains a bottleneck, an issue Huawei’s initiative aims to address.

While Tesla has been a pioneer in establishing a fast-charging network in China, its stations have been predominantly exclusive to Tesla vehicles. With Huawei’s chargers designed for universal compatibility, this could level the playing field for Chinese EV manufacturers, potentially accelerating the adoption of fast-charging EVs.

Huawei’s commitment to installing 100,000 charging stations by the end of the year shows the company’s aggressive strategy to challenge Tesla’s dominance in the EV market. The new charging stations, being more powerful and faster than their competitors, could potentially provide Huawei with a competitive edge in the race towards EV supremacy in China.