EV battery swapping takes off in China with more new players

In the domestic battery swapping domain, NIO and Aulton served as forerunners with different business focuses. As of April 2022 this year, NIO has deployed a total of 900 battery swapping stations, which are all dedicated to serving private users. Aulton's battery swapping facilities are mainly used for taxi and ride-hailing services.

Notably, Aulton has teamed up with a handful of mainstream automakers, including FAW Group, BAIC BJEV, GAC Group, Changan Automobile, and Dongfeng Motor, to co-develop over 24 swappable-battery-equipped vehicle models.

The rapid growing demands for NEVs and clear governmental policy supports entice more players to come join the dance.

On April 27, Chinese power battery giant CATL and EV startup Aiways signed a framework agreement, under which a battery swap-enabled version of the latter's first production model, the U5 SUV, will be developed for launch in the fourth quarter this year.

Aiways is CATL's second automotive partner for its battery swapping business EVOGO. On January 18, 2022, Contemporary Amperex Energy Service Technology Ltd. (“CAES”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CATL, rolled out the EVOGO solution at an online event.

Choco-SEB; photo credit: CATL

Instead of using fixed battery packs whose capacity is specifically designed for the vehicle, EVOGO rides on smaller battery blocks, which the company names “Choco-SEB (swapping electric block)”. CATL said the “Choco” means the battery block is designed to resemble a bar of chocolate.

Supported by CATL's latest cell-to-pack (“CTP”) technology, the Choco-SEB can achieve a gravimetric energy density of 160Wh/kg and a volumetric energy density of 325 Wh/L. Each block can provide a driving range of 200km. Nevertheless, the company didn’t specify which test cycle it used to determine the value.

According to CATL's introduction, the Choco-SEB is compatible with up to 80% of global BEV platform-based vehicle models available on the market and all BEV platform-based models to be released in the next three years globally. Customers are free to take one to three blocks to meet different range requirements.

In addition, the Choco-SEB can also be charged in the vehicle, if there is no battery swap station nearby.

The Choco-SEB is only a part of the Modular Battery Swap Solution under the EVOGO business. The solution also contains two innovative products, namely, the fast battery swap station and the EVOGO app.

Covering an area equivalent to three parking spaces, a standard EVOGO battery swap station can house up to 48 Choco-SEBs and allows one-minute swapping for a single battery block. Besides, a variety of swap stations is offered to suit the climates of different regions.

The dedicated app serves as a bridge among customers, vehicles, stations and batteries, said CATL.

EVOGO battery swap station in Xiamen; photo credit: CATL

The first member of CATL's EVOGO family is the modular battery swappable version of the Bestune NAT. The model was put into use in Xiamen city on April 18, signifying that the operation of the EVOGO service formally started.

Currently, the monthly rental of the Choco-SEB is 399 yuan ($60) per block. Apart from Xiamen, CATL will select another 9 cities to conduct the commissioning of the EVOGO battery swap stations.

Aside from CATL, Geely Auto is another prominent example which took a major step in this field this year.

Geely Auto announced in January that it had completed the registration of Livan Automotive, a car-making joint venture with Lifan Technology, a significant move for building a battery swap ecosystem for EVs. The first compatible model, the Maple S60, hit the market in February to mainly serve B2B users.

Geely claimed last year that it aimed to install 5,000 battery swap stations globally by 2025. With the joint venture established, the implementation of the mission is becoming concrete.

Livan Automotive's vehicles will be built on the GBRC platform, which stands for “Global Battery Rapid Change”. The GBRC can adapt to the wheelbase range of 2,700-3,100mm, allowing SUVs, MPVs, and light trucks to be supplied with fresh batteries. It also meets the needs of different sectors like ride-hailing, private cars, taxis and logistics vehicles.

Battery swap station of E-Energee; photo credit: Geely Holding

What's more, the Chinese big-name private carmaker registered in April 2020 the trademark “E-Energee” for its battery swapping service. Under the management of Geely Technology Group, E-Energee launched its first modular battery swapping station in Chongqing in September of the same year, and has already deployed such facilities in more provinces and cities like Tianjin, Zhejiang, Shandong, Jiangsu, Hunan, Hainan, and Anhui.

Geely said the 126-square-meter station can be easily set up in any location with the capability of serving over 1,000 battery-swap compatible vehicles per day.

Like Geely, GAC Group also strives to build a battery swapping ecosystem. The Guangzhou-based auto giant announced in March the proposed establishment of an energy ecosystem technology subsidiary with the aim of building an ecosystem for EV charging, battery swapping, energy storage and battery recycling. The registered capital of the subsidiary would be split 55:45 by GAC Group and GAC AION respectively.

GAC AION's supercharging & battery swapping center; photo credit: GAC AION

In late April, GAC AION's first battery swap station came online in Guangzhou, enabling a vehicle's battery pack to be replaced with a fully charged one within only 2.5 minutes, and supporting a replacement life of up to 8,000 cycles, according to the company.

Interestingly, the station also features supercharging capabilities. GAC AION plans to build 220 such stations in its home city of Guangzhou this year and 1,000 by 2025.

The launch and operation of the stations do not come from GAC AION's standalone efforts. Such companies and industrial associations as China Southern Power Grid, PetroChina Company Limited, Guangzhou City Construction Investment Group, HUAWEI, the China Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Promotion Alliance, and Greater Bay Technology also take part in the process.