The battle for speedy battery-swaps has begun
By Peter Lisbygd
Until now the chinese EV brand NIO has been the only star on the horizon promoting its unique battery swapping service, enabling NIO car owners to make a battery change within just 3 minutes.
But this week the world’s largest battery maker, Chinese CATL (China's Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd), that also happen to be the battery supplier of NIO and Tesla launched its own battery swap service for EVs called EVOGO.
Video: CATL Official - EVOGO Battery Swap Solution Launch
The battery maker aims to set up swapping stations in 10 cities in China and users will have access to the service via an app. The service allows drivers to swap battery blocks in just 1 minute. Each block provides a driving range of around 200 km, the company says.
The idea is to create an infrastructure that is an alternative to supercharging that is still more time consuming. CATL is considering the battery as a shared product, instead of a consumer product for personal use.
Chinese automaker FAW´s Bestune NAT multi-purpose car will be the first car that the service will be compatible with, but more models will be included in the future.
In September, the Chinese conglomerate Geely who owns Volvo also announced that it aims to set up 5.000 battery swapping stations for electric vehicles in China by 2025.
A matter of speed & convenience
It was only a matter of time before more players would venture into the battlefield of battery swapping. CATL claims that the new system is compatible with 80% of “global BEV platform-based vehicle models."
Photo: www.catl.com
It is launching the service at a time where the global EV sector is competing to cut costs and reduce range anxiety from new car buyers.
The so-called E-Energee service from Geely enables drivers to swap their battery within just 59 seconds. The current E-Energee service is used by mobility fleets able to have their electric vehicles running with greater efficiency through the use of battery swap that cuts out longer charging times.
The good question is if battery-swapping and battery as a service “BaaS” concepts become a future standard that will outcompete super charging concepts where infrastructure cost is lower but with less convenience for the end user.
I am not doubting a second that battery-swapping has as future. It is also not surprising that disruption is coming from inside China, as the Middle Kingdom is now a global hub for speed and innovation when it comes to future technologies within new energy vehicles, batteries, and autonomous driving.
NIO was the first to launch the concept of battery-swapping and has a dedicated plan to build a global network with global partner Shell. So far NIO has rolled out battery-swapping stations nationwide in China, with around 700 stations operating and the first station outside China will open in Norway this week.
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