General Motors has submitted a project application to San Francisco to build "the largest electric car charging station in North America" to recharge its growing fleet of self-driving electric cars, General Motors' self-driving developer Cruise said on its official blog on Feb. 19.
The proposed electric vehicle charging station will be built on the east side of the central waterfront of San Francisco, south of the downtown core area. Local media reported that Cruise plans to complete the project by 2022 at the latest. According to the report, Cruise plans to build 50 charging piles for outdoor self-driving vehicles in advance, and the number of charging piles may more than double in the future.
Cruise said the company's decision to build one of the largest electric car charging stations in the United States was also partly to provide San Francisco residents with reliable and sustainable travel alternatives.
For Cruise's self-driving electric fleet to grow rapidly to help combat climate change, the company must address the shortage of charging infrastructure for electric vehicles in the short term, especially in San Francisco, where it is headquartered.
A recent study by the International Clean Transport Commission ((ICCT)) shows that in nearly 90 per cent of US cities, electric vehicle charging infrastructure is less than half of the demand, so these cities cannot deploy electric vehicles on a large scale.
Cruise also plans to launch a commercial self-driving ride-hailing service in San Francisco, using Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicles equipped with Cruise's self-driving hardware and software.
Curise's ultimate plan is to deploy its latest Origin ferry, a futuristic self-driving multi-passenger vehicle developed with GM and Honda. In January 2020, the Origin ferry bus made its debut. The Origin will be the first mass-produced car in the world without steering wheels, brake pedals and other artificial controls. It is designed for commercial use and can be modified to carry passengers or goods.
After five years and 2 million miles (3.2 million kilometers) of testing on public roads in San Francisco, Curise says its technology is advanced enough to remove safe drivers from its test vehicles.
Removing safe drivers from its fleet is an important first step for Cruise, which is continuing to refine its software to launch a commercial self-driving taxi service. To provide this service, however, they need enough electric car charging infrastructure to support the entire San Francisco Cruise fleet.
Cruise said it plans to work with communities, merchants and San Francisco to make its electric vehicle charging project an inclusive and shared project, and part of its electric vehicle charging infrastructure will be open to the public.
