Written by Cláudio Afonso | info@claudio-afonso.com
Battery Exchange Stations are gaining relevance on the EV sector turning them an interesting and faster way beside the Charging option. Currently, there are many Chinese EV makers believing on that process with Geely and Nio being the ones building new Swap Stations at an impressive pace rate. Nio had its first battery swap in 2019 and officially opened its first European Battery Swap Station last month counting already almost 850 built in China.
According to a study from Caixin Data — that compared Home Charger Piles, Battery swap stations and Supercharging stations — Institutions are more optimistic about the suppliers and operators of power exchange equipment. For example, Air China Securities estimates that the operation of power exchange stations may be the largest part of the market space in the industrial chain. 2022 is expected to become the first year of the power exchange industry. Many brokerages are optimistic about power exchange equipment suppliers and operators.
The most prominent feature of power exchange mode is high charging efficiency
According to Bloomberg, six Chinese companies, including Aulton New Energy Automotive, Geely Automobile Group and Nio, plan to build more than 8,000 battery-swapping stations by the end of the year, and 26,000 by 2025. The battery maker CATL, supplier of many EV makers like Tesla and Nio, is already building its first Battery Swap Stations. Last July, the company extended a battery supply deal with U.S. EV maker Tesla for Model 3 sedans and Model Y sport-utility vehicles in Shanghai, until December 2025.
Speed and convenience are among the biggest advantages of Battery Exchange Stations over Charging ones. Last month, Nio inaugurated its first European Battery Swap Station in Oslo, Norway. The station is located in Dramen (Oslo, Norway) and the company has already around 850 stations built in China.
EV had access to an exclusive video of the first exchange in Norway where demonstrates that customers can have a fully charged battery in less than 5 minutes without having to step out of the vehicle.
Tesla’s fast super-charging network takes at least 30 minutes to fully charge a battery, however the company said “Tesla Supercharger is the fastest charging option when you’re away from home, allowing you to charge your car up to 200 miles in 15 minutes.”
Last month, battery supplier CATL has revealed that it is entering the business of modular battery swap solutions with a brand called Evogo. The company which produces battery packs for a number of EV makers like Tesla and Nio announced that the business will be operated by CATL subsidiary Contemporary Amperex Energy Service Technology Ltd. The company plans to commence operation of its Evogo service in 10 cities in China, and a timeline for this has not been clarified.
With the support of the latest CTP (cell to pack) technology, it can achieve a weight energy density of over 160 Wh/kg and a volume energy density of 325 Wh/L, enabling a single block to provide a driving range of 200 km
CATL
Both Geely and Nio want to roll out 5,000 Battery Swapping Stations in China by 2025. Last July, Nio received TÜV certifications to sell and operate its battery exchange stations and chargers in all EU member states towards the European Expansion scheduled for this year. The German certification agency TÜV Rheinland issued the European Conformity Certificate and TÜV MARK Approval Certificate to the ‘Power Swap Station’, the DC ‘Power Charger’ and the AC wallbox ‘Power Home’ which means that the devices may be sold and operated in all EU member states.
When it comes to Aulton, the company signed, last November, a equity purchase agreement with Aulton New Energy Automotive Technology Co Ltd with the oil giant BP to become a shareholder of its subsidiary. The acquisition will provide safe and efficient battery swapping services for taxis, ride-hailing providers, and other passenger cars in Guangzhou, China.
We want to provide the fastest, most convenient charging solutions for our customers, and this partnership will enable fleet customers to swap a depleted EV battery for a fully charged one in just one minute or less
Richard Bartlett, BP senior vice president for future mobility and solutions
“With BP‘s global electrification expertise and operational safety capabilities and Aulton’s battery-swapping expertise and network, the partners will look to expand their venture across China, the world’s largest and fastest-developing EV market with around 50% of the world’s battery electric vehicles today” — the British company said.
Last week, India Government said the country is now considering battery swapping for electric cars rather than charging stations as it seeks to spur adoption of cleaner transport in its notoriously polluted and crowded cities., Bloomberg reported.
“Considering the constraints for space in urban areas for setting up charging stations at scale, a battery-swapping policy will be brought out and interoperability standards will be formulated,”
Nirmala Sitharaman, India Finance Minister
The private sector will be encouraged to develop “sustainable and innovative business models for battery or energy as a service,” she said, improving the overall efficiency of the EV ecosystem.
According to Bloomberg, EVs sales in India account for just 1% of the total versus as high as 30% in some cities in China. In 2021, 3,29,190 electric vehicles were sold in India, representing a 168% increase over last year’s sales of 1,22,607 units.
Sitharaman’s announcement buoyed shares of battery makers, with Exide Industries Ltd. rising as much as 2.9% and Amara Raja Batteries Ltd. climbing as much as 2.4%.
“A battery swapping policy could be a big booster for all the startups already working in this space,” Rajeev Singh, partner and automotive lead at Deloitte India, said. As well as helping to spur EV adoption, it could “also help drive electrification of fleets, especially for last-mile connectivity,” he said.
Geely’s E-Energee first battery-swapping station went live in Chongqing in September 2020. Since then, the service has been expanded to ten Chinese provinces. Geely says it has the goal of bringing 5,000 stations online across China by 2025. The technology enable the battery to be exchanged for a fully charged one within 59 seconds.
However, worths to remember that building an automated Battery Swap Station can cost 10 times more than setting up a fast-charging station, implying higher costs for the EV makers using this system.
Written by C.Afonso | info@claudio-afonso.com