What is battery swapping or battery-as-a-service?
Electric vehicles are increasingly marking their presence on the roads. And battery swapping as a service will drive its growth in the days to come. Let us find out what it is all about
 "SUN Mobility battery swapping stations")
Growing fuel prices, rising pollution level and climate concerns are driving the growth of electronic vehicles. But the concern about their high cost is also weighing heavy on everyone’s mind.
So to address this concern, the battery-as-a-service model was born. Battery price makes up as much as 50% of an electric vehicle’s cost. Battery-as-a-service model helps customers save money at the time of purchase.
Customers can pay during every swap or subscribe to battery subscription plans. In August last year, the government had also announced the sale of electric two-wheelers and three-wheelers without a factory-fitted battery.
And this year, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced in her Budget speech that the government will bring a battery swapping policy to boost the use of electric vehicles in the country in view of space constraints for setting up charging stations.
Sitharaman also said that the private sector would be encouraged to develop sustainable and innovative business models for ‘battery-as-a-service’ to improve efficiency in the Electric Vehicle ecosystem.
Swapping allows EV owners to replace depleted battery blocks for fully-charged ready-to-go ones at swap stations.
The technology is being tested for various segments, including e-two wheelers, e-three wheelers, electric cars and even e-buses.
Battery swapping stations can be either manual or automated. In a manual station, batteries are placed and removed manually from the individual slots of the station by hand. The stations don’t occupy much space.
These are mainly used for two and three-wheelers, as the battery pack sizes are smaller and can be handled by one person.
Also Read
Automated stations with robotic arms are used for four-wheelers as the battery packs are heavier. The other worry for any EV buyer is range anxiety or the worry that the battery will run out of power before a charging point is reached.
And also the time that is taken in charging them. Swapping addresses both these problems. Battery swapping is designed to eliminate range anxiety as it is easier to set up a dense network of swapping stations even in urban areas.
Not just this, electric charging takes time and Indian cities do not have physical spaces that can accommodate hundreds of vehicles when EVs become mainstream.
In China and in the US, some companies have already set up automated swapping stations for cars, which is particularly useful for commercial fleet operators.
While in India, several states including Kerala, Karnataka, Delhi, Haryana and Andhra Pradesh are providing incentives and subsidies to set up battery swapping stations.
Sun Mobility, Lithion Power and Chargeup are some of the battery swapping solution providers in India. Bengaluru-based Bounce recently launched India’s first swappable battery scooter and also operates a battery swapping network.
Reliance Industries and Britain’s BP formed a joint venture for battery swapping in the country last year. Motorbike maker Hero MotoCorp and Taiwan's Gogoro have also formed a partnership for swapping.
According to NITI Aayog and Rocky Mountain Institute, about 80% of two- and three-wheelers and 50% of the country’s four-wheelers would be electric vehicles by 2030. And battery swapping will drive this growth.
Watch video
Don't miss the most important news and views of the day. Get them on our Telegram channel
First Published: Mar 18 2022 | 8:45 AM IST
