In the internet era, cross-industry disruption has become possible—no company or industry can afford to rest on its laurels just because it once enjoyed a competitive moat. Even in China, where the gas station industry boasts exceptionally high barriers to entry.
The real competitors of banks aren't each other—but rather Alipay and WeChat.
The real competitors of the taxi industry aren’t public transportation—or even illegal taxis—but rather Didi and Uber.
Wait, the examples are countless.

Now, it's the gas station's turn…

In the internet era,跨界 disruption has become possible—no company or industry can rest easy simply because it once had a competitive moat. Even in China, where the gas station industry boasts exceptionally high barriers to entry.

What would make PetroChina and Sinopec tremble—and potentially leave oil workers jobless—isn’t more gas stations or fiercer competition, but rather highways capable of generating their own electricity.

▌Roads can generate their own electricity—so what’s the point of gas stations anymore…

Recently, CCTV reported a news story that left the author quite astonished: the Jinan South Ring Expressway, scheduled to officially open by the end of December this year, will become the world’s first highway capable of supporting the research and installation of photovoltaic pavement technology.

In other words, this highway can generate its own electricity.

Specifically, the road surface utilizes a technology known as load-bearing photovoltaic pavement, which involves directly laying photovoltaic power-generating components—designed to withstand vehicle traffic—onto the road's surface.

Highway pavements can be divided into three layers,
The surface layer, designed to protect vehicles and pedestrians, is made of "transparent concrete" — a material not only capable of supporting the movement of small electric vehicles but also robust enough to handle medium-sized trucks. Its technical specifications and safety performance metrics surpass those of the asphalt concrete pavements currently in widespread use.
The middle layer is the core component layer of Chengsheng Power, featuring photovoltaic modules that generate electricity.
At the bottom lies an insulating layer that keeps out moisture from below.

CCTV reports that the road surface has now been connected to the power grid for electricity generation, and the solar-powered pavement is already supplying energy directly to charging stations.

What did everyone think upon seeing this news? At the time, my first reaction was: China’s gas station industry is in trouble. Why do I say that? Because in the future, highways will essentially become “mobile power banks”—vehicles speeding along the roads will be able to recharge automatically, eliminating the need for traditional fueling altogether.

Moreover, the implementation of this scenario now already has some foundational conditions in place:

First of all, electric vehicles that don’t rely on fossil fuels are no longer just a concept stuck on PowerPoint slides. In recent years, Tesla’s remarkable rise has brought electric cars into everyday life, and just recently, Tesla even unveiled an electric truck.

Tesla Electric Truck Video

Meanwhile, established automakers like Toyota, Volkswagen, and General Motors are also pouring significant investments into electric vehicle research.
Meanwhile, to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement, several European countries have successively announced that they will completely ban the sale of fossil-fuel vehicles in the near future, setting clear timelines for phasing out these cars.

Timetables for banning the sale of fuel-powered vehicles proposed by several countries

Meanwhile, in September of this year, at the International Forum on China's Automotive Industry Development, a senior official from China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology announced that the country has already begun studying a timeline for phasing out traditional fuel-powered vehicles.

Although these timelines may seem somewhat distant, the widespread adoption of electric vehicles will clearly happen well before they expire—especially as companies, driven by competitive market pressures, are bound to increase their investments in this sector, accelerating the industry's maturation. As a result, in the near future, electric vehicles are set to replace today’s gasoline-powered cars and ultimately dominate the market.

Secondly, breakthroughs have also been made in vehicle-to-grid (V2G) mobile charging technology.

For instance, as early as 2013, the world’s first wireless-charging bus lane was already built and put into operation in South Korea.

Meanwhile, in May of this year, Qualcomm achieved a breakthrough in wireless charging technology for electric vehicles, enabling them to charge while traveling at speeds up to 100 km/h.

Not to mention, wireless charging for iPhones has already become a part of our daily lives.

So, here's the question now: In the near future, when all vehicles on the road are electric cars—and when those EVs can even recharge themselves while driving—what will happen to gas stations, which are currently indispensable?

According to statistics, in 2015, China had a total of 98,595 gas stations. Among them, PetroChina operated 20,714 stations, accounting for 21.38%, while Sinopec managed 30,560 stations, representing 31.61%. The remaining 45,500 stations were operated by other private-sector companies.

At the current growth rate, the number of oil gas stations has already surpassed 100,000. If we assume an average of 10 workers per station, the total workforce in the industry could reach as high as 1 million—this figure doesn’t even include employees in logistics and supporting sectors.

In other words, as electric vehicles become more widespread and mobile charging on highways becomes a reality, these over one million people will face the risk of losing their jobs.

▌They still have time.

Of course, gas stations in China aren’t about to disappear overnight—those over 1 million people still have plenty of time to think about their future.

Although electric vehicles have already achieved technological breakthroughs in mobile charging, the high costs currently prevent large-scale implementation of photovoltaic highways and wireless charging for cars—at least in the near term.

Currently, the high costs are primarily evident in two areas.

First of all, it’s expensive: for instance, at the end of 2016, France built the world’s first solar-powered road in a small town in Normandy. The completed solar section was just 1 kilometer long and 2 meters wide, covered by 2,800 square meters of solar panels—but the cost soared to as much as 5 million euros.

At the time, France's Ecology Minister Ségolène Royal expressed her hope that in the future, 1 kilometer of every 1,000 kilometers of French highways could be covered with photovoltaic road surfaces. If her project idea were to achieve two-way single-lane coverage across these roads, the cost could soar as high as 10 billion euros—roughly equivalent to 79 billion RMB.

Meanwhile, China's highways are more than 10 times longer than France's—and even if just 1 in every 1,000 kilometers were developed, it would still require an investment of nearly one trillion yuan.

Second, the lifespan of existing solar panels remains uncertain, and maintenance costs are high.

Therefore, based on these two points, wireless charging on highways remains unfeasible for the time being, but from a developmental perspective, it’s only a matter of time.

▌What do you rely on to make a living?

Actually, the real shock this has brought us isn’t just learning that "gas stations are being disrupted" or that "over a million industry workers could face job losses." Rather, it’s realizing how vulnerable China’s gas station sector—once protected by its deep moat of resources and platform dominance—has become in the face of this cross-industry disruption.

So, we can’t help but ask: In this rapidly evolving society, when relying solely on resources or platform advantages no longer works, what should we depend on to secure our place and make a living?

This is a question each and every one of us must answer.

My own answer is to always stay ambitious and continuously recharge and learn—only then can we ensure we don’t get left behind by the times.

The world's first high-speed photovoltaic highway appears as construction begins in Jinan.
Source: Pacific Auto Network and others

Sunlight can be harnessed to generate electricity—simply drive an electric vehicle over it, and it’ll charge automatically. And when it snows? The road surface can even melt the snow on its own… You’re not dreaming—this is photovoltaic pavement, a cutting-edge "black tech" that seamlessly merges the transportation industry with the renewable energy sector.

By the end of 2017, Jinan’s southern bypass expressway will become the world’s first highway to host the research and installation of photovoltaic pavement—currently, construction is underway at full speed. The section spans nearly 2 kilometers and is being developed and built with investment from Qilu Transportation Development Group.

Photovoltaic panels on the right-hand lane

The surface of the high-speed photovoltaic highway consists of individual photovoltaic panels that look like "glass," yet they offer excellent traction underfoot. Not only can this road support the movement of small electric vehicles, but it’s also capable of handling medium-sized trucks. According to the construction team, the photovoltaic pavement will feel virtually indistinguishable from conventional asphalt roads in terms of driving comfort. Once this technology matures and becomes widely adopted, the nation’s extensive network of highways could transform into a mobile "solar-powered energy bank"—literally charging as vehicles glide over them.

According to reports, the photovoltaic panels will feature multiple functions, as follows:

It can absorb solar energy, convert the energy into electricity, and then supply power to nearby electrical devices and charging stations.
Using electromagnetic induction, cars equipped with wireless charging can receive power wirelessly in real time as they drive over this section of road.
By integrating big data, we will enable information exchange between roads and vehicles.
The road ice detection system can instantly sense icy road conditions in real time, automatically activating the electric heating system to promptly remove snow and ice from the roads, ensuring safe travel.