Hong Kong Productivity Council’s Automotive Platforms and Application Systems (APAS) Research & Development Centre has developed a charging adapter, allowing Hong Kong drivers of electric vehicles to use European-standard-plug to charge their cars in mainland charging stations.
This comes as the administration earlier announced an increase in the daily processing capacity for northbound travel for Hong Kong vehicles scheme from 400 to 500 applications per working day starting January 2.
The center’s CEO Du Yonghai said at a press conference on Thursday that more Hongkongers are expected to drive to the mainland as the Lunar New Year approaches, while the increasingly prevalent electric vehicles in the city create a need for charging in the mainland.
However, as most EVs in Hong Kong are using the European standard— Combined Charging System 2 — while the mainland uses GB/T charging standard, Hong Kong drivers have to purchase fast-charging adapters, but limited offers are available in the market currently.
The center therefore launched the charging adapter, allowing Hong Kong drivers of EVs using CCS Type 2 plug to charge their cars in mainland charging stations with a rate power of 150kW.
The center will also work on establishing a set of guidelines to enhance the safety and conscience of charging systems while calling for more standardized management of charging adapters in the future.
(Ayra Wang)
