Recently, two pieces of news about energy transformation have attracted much attention. First, at the China Electric Vehicle 100 People Forum, industry insiders predicted that the penetration rate of new energy vehicles is expected to exceed 50% in the next few months, forming a dominant position for new energy vehicles in the market. Second, oil and gas giant Shell said it plans to divest about 500 of its refueling stations every year this year and next, focusing on public charging piles to cope with changing customer needs. As the green and low-carbon transformation of energy accelerates, will gas stations be eliminated?

传统加油站已经感受到了生存危机。supply side，国内炼油产能仍处于新一轮增长周期，成品油资源整体供过于求，竞争态势依然严峻。demand side ，新能源汽车加速替代是大势所趋，替代效应已至“量变到质变”临界点，一些地区成品油销售出现下滑态势，未来国内成品油需求或将直接跳过平台期进入下降通道。“双碳”目标下，加油站如果无法适应能源转型要求，必将被历史淘汰。正视挑战，传统加油站亟需拥抱“四化”。

A gas station in Anshun City, Guizhou Province. Photo by Chen Xi (Xinhua Agency)

Universal energy transformation. 从消费端来看，虽然成品油需求会下降，但出行能源需求还在增长。随着电动汽车、氢燃料电池汽车等交通工具多样化发展，传统加油站已难以满足市场需求。2023年6月，国务院办公厅印发《关于进一步构建高质量充电基础设施体系的指导意见》，提出“在确保安全前提下，在具备条件的加油（气）站配建公共快充和换电设施，积极推进建设加油（气）、充换电等业务一体的综合供能服务站”。这为加油站转型指明了方向。

At present, domestic gas stations are constantly transforming into integrated energy service stations, and many new forms have emerged such as oil-hydrogen joint construction stations, refueling and refueling stations,"oil-gas-electricity" integrated stations, and "oil-gas-hydrogen-electricity" integrated energy stations. Such integrated energy stations can meet more diversified energy consumption needs, including refueling, electricity charging, hydrogen refueling, etc. At the same time, by integrating power exchange facilities, new energy storage, rooftop photovoltaics and other resources, some integrated energy service stations not only achieve low-carbonization and low-cost energy use in the station, but also increase profits by participating in power market transactions and help build new power systems. In addition, this model has also changed the previous way in which various energy supply systems were planned and operated independently, which can effectively reduce land costs, reduce administrative approval difficulties, dilute operating costs, and quickly occupy emerging markets.

Diversity. 纵观加油站发展史，卖油都不是加油站的唯一业务。19世纪末至20世纪初，加油只是日杂商店的一项辅助业务。20世纪30年代，受经济大萧条影响，加油站逐步推动服务多元化，在加油的同时帮顾客擦玻璃、检查油位、打气、加冷却水、检查电瓶等。此后，加油站又开始推行自助服务、24小时营业，集加油、超市、汽车修理于一体。 In the future, gas stations will be not only energy supply stations, but also consumption complexes.

The extension from energy supply to diversified consumption scenarios such as convenient shopping, car wash and maintenance, catering and leisure is an inevitable trend in the transformation of gas stations. 比如，中国石化安徽芜湖石油国泰综合加能站，通过引进百年“中华老字号”餐饮店耿福兴，为顾客提供小笼汤包、虾子面、酥烧饼“三大件”特色传统小吃，成为网红“打卡点”。加油站可持续创新“补能+”商业模式，打造“补能+购物”“补能+养车”“补能+餐饮”“补能+增值服务”等综合服务模式，通过油非协同营销，拉动消费升级。

Community. 除业务调整之外，空间“腾笼换鸟”同样有潜可挖。加油站是城市基础设施重要组成部分，散布于城市各个角落，可在保持基本服务功能前提下，因地制宜提供旅游指引、代收快递、手机充电、免费提供开水、饭菜加热、雨伞借用、小药箱等服务，增加咖啡厅、茶馆、展厅、洽谈室、儿童区、图书室等公共空间，打通毗邻小区的“走廊”，构建1分钟便民服务站，将空间还给市民，让综合能源站更有“温度”。

Intelligent. 对便利性的追求是推动加油站发展的主要动力。最初的加油站要用小桶从大桶中灌取，然后倒入汽车油箱，加油过程十分复杂。1905年手动加油机问世后，加油变得更快捷，加油站数量也迎来快速增长。此后，加油站自动化水平不断提升。在科技快速进步的今天， The transformation of gas stations must make full use of new technologies such as cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and refueling/charging robots to carry out intelligent upgrades, further improve the convenience of energy replenishment, enrich marketing methods, and reduce operating costs.

What remains unchanged is the energy demand, but what has changed is the business format of gas stations. Only by keeping close to the times, constantly exploring and innovating in product combinations, technical means, and business models, and embarking on their own unique path will gas stations not be eliminated.