XPENG & BP Pulse Team Up On EV Charging – CleanTechnica

Sign up for daily news updates from CleanTechnica on email. Or follow us on Google News!

---

It’s not a partnership I thought I’d ever see, but this is the 2020s. Chinese EV startup XPENG and the EV charging wing of BP (formerly British Petroleum), bp pulse, have partnered up to share EV charging stations in China.

This week, the two companies signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to provide each other “cross-access to their extensive charging networks.” They say that this will allow them to provided “unmatched charging convenience” to their customers. These customers will have access to more than 30,000 charging stations in 420 cities across China.

However, that’s not the end of it. They aren’t just merging their charging networks. They also plan to work together to improve them. XPENG and bp pulse are “planning to explore cutting-edge solutions in solar-powered charging, energy storage, demand-side energy management, and joint marketing initiatives, paving the way for innovative energy and mobility solutions.”

XPENG wants to build the largest and fastest network in China for EV fast charging. At the moment, the XPENG Charging network includes 2,000 charging stations and 10,000 chargers. Meanwhile, the bp pulse network includes 1,000 stations and 23,000 chargers. So, it’s a pretty even or fair merger of networks.

“Pilot projects in key economic hubs will demonstrate the potential of ultra-fast charging networks through enhanced infrastructure collaboration, offering EV users a higher-density, safer, more reliable and premium charging experience,” XPENG writes. “Moreover, the collaboration will explore innovative solutions such as solar-powered energy storage and demand-side energy management, leveraging the unique advantages of both parties to enable broader, faster, and more cost-effective network expansion.”

While the XPENG Charging network is still only in China, the company plans to start its international spread in 2025. That includes going elsewhere in Asia, going into Europe, and going into Australia. “In 2025, XPENG Charging will extend its network globally, starting with an international charging service platform offering station discovery, charger navigation, and seamless payment solutions,” the company writes.

The Chinese partnership seems like a great way to improve convenience for XPENG’s customers, especially as the competition gets extreme. However, the international expansions are even more intriguing. How much will that help XPENG to get customers in new markets and expand quicker in the limited markets it is in beyond China? This could make a big difference for the company.