President Alex Wu said NaaS Technology’s robot eliminates the trouble of plugging heavy charging cables into EVs and waiting in a queue for a charging spot. — China Daily
Beijing: As the number of electric vehicles rise rapidly while bringing about charging challenges worldwide, China is producing self-driving charging robots to juice up electric vehicles (EVs) as part of broader efforts for a more advanced EV ecosystem.
NaaS Technology, one of China’s largest and fastest-growing EV charging service providers, recently launched such a robot that finds EVs, charges them and collects payments automatically.
Leveraging V2X (vehicle-to-everything) technology, the robot parks itself precisely, automatically docks into an EV’s charging port and, using a mechanical arm, charges it up, without human assistance. When the robot’s battery runs out, it can recharge itself as well.
According to Alex Wu, NaaS Technology’s president and chief financial officer, the robot eliminates the trouble of plugging heavy charging cables into EVs and waiting in a queue for a charging spot.
“China has the world’s most developed EV charging market, a mature EV charging ecosystem, advanced EV charging solutions, and cost-effective charging and energy storage products,” said Wu.
“Intelligent and unmanned EV charging will create a whole new experience and open up a massive market for smart charging, especially when autonomous vehicles drive into reality.”
The company, China’s first Nasdaq-listed EV charging-service provider, had connected over 515,000 chargers by the end of 2022.
The company also claimed that the charging robot was independently developed by its team, whose members include former employees of Bosch, BMW and other globally reputable carmakers and technology companies.
NaaS is not alone in developing charging robot technology, as Volkswagen and Hyundai have recently revealed robot designs, albeit with different approaches to mobile power sources.
Data from the Industry and Information Technology Ministry showed that by the first half of this year, the number of charging points nationwide hit 6.928 million, a year-on-year increase of 74.1%. — China Daily/ANN
