Can EV battery swap stations really go mainstream?
Kinda, sorta, maybe
Story byIoanna Lykiardopoulou
Ioanna is a writer at TNW. She covers the full spectrum of the European tech ecosystem, with a particular interest in startups, sustainabili(show all)Ioanna is a writer at TNW. She covers the full spectrum of the European tech ecosystem, with a particular interest in startups, sustainability, green tech, AI, and EU policy. With a background in the humanities, she has a soft spot for social impact-enabling technologies.
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How do battery swap stations work?
The idea is simple. You drive up to a car wash-sized station and you hand your vehicle over to the valet — or even stay inside. The workers and/or the machines do the rest: bolts are unscrewed, the battery is removed, a new one is replaced, and everything is reassembled.
That sounds like it should take forever, right? But based on the swap stations we have so far, the whole process only takes one to three minutes (more on that later). That’s a full ‘charge’ in less time than it takes to drink an espresso.
What are the pros?
Besides saving time, you’d also save money.The cost of the car can be separated from the cost of the battery pack, making EVs more affordable for some drivers.
Plus, you wouldn’t have to worry about battery degradation or warranties. And your vehicle could have a longer life if it’s not attached to its battery.Remember, it’s the batteries that have an expiration date, not the car itself.
Similarly, swapping makes it possible toalways have the latest battery tech installed in your vehicle.
And the cons?
For starters,manufacturers would need to produce compatible batteries for all brands. This means that the battery pack would need a very specific universal design.
What’s more, we’d need a greater number of batteries to power the same number of EVs. Not to mention the changes required for an entirely new infrastructure.
China in the lead
Battery swap stations seem to be picking up pace in China, at least.
In December, NIOreached 700 stationsacross the country, having provided 5.3 million swaps to NIO car owners. Its swap stations are fully automated and can do the job in three minutes.
NIO’s battery swap station (Credit: NIO)
Last week, CATL — you know,China’s biggest battery manufacturer—announcedthe installation of its EVOGO swaps stations across 10 Chinese cities.
The company says its new modular battery blocks are compatible with 80% of the global platform-basedEVmodels, but for now the first car to make use of the EVOGO service will be theBestune Nat MPVbuilt byFAW Group— one of CATL’s partners.
The EVOGO battery swap station (Credit: CATL)
Notably, the EVOGO stations can swap the batteries in only one minute.
The same swapping time is also promised by Geely, which isplanning to set up 5,000 stationsacross China by 2025.
Things aren’t so optimistic in the West
In January,NIO launched in Norway Europe’s first battery swap station, intending to expand in Germany as well.
In the US,Amplehas launched five initial stations in San Francisco, and has partnered up with Uber and Sally for its swapping services.
It plans to expand to other US cities, Europe, and Japan.
Ample’s battery swap station (Credit: Ample)
So can battery swap stations really take off?
Maybe in some parts of the world, or well, China.
Apart from an increasing number of companies that are betting on the tech, the Chinese government is also backing battery swapping.
It’s introducedits own battery swapping program, it has approvednational EV battery swap standards, and the State Grid (thestate-owned electric utility corporation)has struck partnershipswith multiple major players for the development of battery swap stations.
That’s not really surprising: China is the word’s biggest EV market, its technological pace is faster, and its car industrymight be able to make progress where others have failed.
But that’s not the case for western countries.
The EV market is only now starting to catch up — and, along with it, conventional charging infrastructure.
It’d be a huge ask for governments to backanothercharging alternative, and it’d be an even bigger ask for automakers to start using a universal, standardized battery pack.
I seriously doubt that car companies would ever be convincedto tear up existing and future product plans, and start from scratch.
Then again, charging station infrastructure was addressed with skepticism in its beginning as well, so perhaps we need more time to really assess how battery swap stations will be received.
But even if they take off, my guess is that they won’t replace good ol’ chargers. At best, they’ll coexist.
