Innovative Application of the Public–Private Partnership Model to the Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure in China

The electric vehicle charging infrastructure is in the initial development period in China, where there is an imbalanced supply and demand structure, an increasingly mature institutional environment, and an imperfect support system. The infrastructure is important for supplying energy to electric vehicles, and it needs to be provided in a reasonable manner with a moderately advanced layout. Due to large-scale investment, unclear financing rights and responsibilities, a single participant, interlinked risks, and other factors, “absence” and “dislocation” of the charging infrastructure coexist. The public–private partnership (PPP) model is an effective supply path for the infrastructure. Thus, introducing the PPP model into the charging infrastructure can leverage social capital, eases the burden on local finance, enhances the level of project management and profitability, and reduces construction and operation risks. For the participant level of PPP projects in the charging infrastructure, the present study elucidates the support mechanisms required by the government, social capital, and intermediaries in order to construct an effective charging infrastructure in China.