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Could swapping your dead battery for a fully charged one replace waiting at charging stations?
One of the major concerns with electric vehicles has always been the charge times. Even the rapid chargers can take up to 30 minutes, which is a vast improvement compared to 20 hours for a slow charger but still can’t compete with the few minutes it takes to fill up with fuel.
One solution has always been battery swapping. Pulling into a garage and replacing your empty battery with an equivalent fully charged one and continuing your journey would save hours off your journey time.
Unfortunately, up to now all attempts at a battery swapping network have failed. Better Place initiated its EV battery-swapping service in Israel, with expansion plans for other countries. For a monthly subscription fee, drivers could access Better Place’s network of automated stations, enabling them to swap batteries within minutes. Despite these efforts, Better Place declared bankruptcy in 2013 after burning through $850 million in cash and attracting only a small number of subscribers for its battery-swapping service.
The EV giant, Tesla, has also tried to build battery-swapping stations, aiming to change its Model S’s battery pack in 90 seconds in 2013. However, after receiving a lacklustre reception from Tesla’s customers, the battery-swapping plan was shelved in 2015.
With electric vehicles increasing, the need to support their use via a fast, cost effective and efficient power supply has also increased.
Apart from convenience, battery-swapping also lowers customers’ initial cost of adopting an EV by allowing them to purchase only the vehicle body and lease the battery pack. Compared to buying an EV with battery pack, this option could reduce customers’ initial adoption cost by thousands of dollars.
Battery-swapping services also present several environmental advantages. Batteries in a swapping system can be charged at a slower pace, which can extend the lifespan of EV batteries and consequently reduce electronic waste. By charging batteries during off-peak hours, battery-swapping stations can reduce energy demand during peak periods or even function as ‘virtual power plants', sending energy back to the local grid during these periods.
The newest company entering the field are China’s EV manufacturer NIO, battery giant CATL, and San Francisco-based Ample. They are offering battery-swapping services in Europe, China and the United States.
NIO’s battery-swapping services operate under a Battery-as-a-Service (BaaS) model. As of November 2023, NIO had established 2,217 battery-swapping stations across six markets, completing nearly 33 million battery swaps for its users.
In an effort to expand its operations, NIO entered into a strategic partnership with Shell in November 2023 to construct and manage battery charging and swapping facilities. To maximize the utilization of NIO’s battery-swapping stations and generate additional revenue, NIO also signed agreements in November 2023 with China’s Geely Group, owner of Volvo, Zeekr, Polestar and Lotus. These agreements aim to coordinate battery standards, battery-swapping technology, and the development and operations of the swapping service network. In January this year, NIO entered into similar agreements with China’s JAC Group and Chery Automobile.
Building EV swapping stations, as well as procuring the required EV batteries, involves significant investment. To achieve scalability, innovative financing solutions, such as securitization of EV batteries and flexible revenue sharing models with investors, are needed.
For now, the stage is set for EV manufacturers, battery suppliers, technology start-ups, financiers and governments to collaborate. Their joint efforts can foster an ecosystem that accelerates EV adoption, with battery-swapping services playing a pivotal role.
