With the government making persistent efforts to push customers toward electric vehicles, the auto sector is destined for a revolution. India already has set ambitious targets for emission reduction, the automobile sector is one key area in which it can drastically reduce the emissions.
However, any discussion on embracing EVs will eventually lead to three of its main pitfalls.
One, the upfront cost of an EV is very high when compared to their ICE counterparts of similar performance. This is primarily due to the high cost of batteries.
Two, The charging infrastructure. The plug-in charging infrastructure requires an individual to have to charge infrastructure at home for overnight charging or wait for it to get charged in a public charger. The waiting time can run up to 15 minutes even while considering the fastest chargers.
Three, the physical space required in urban localities for public chargers can be a major barrier.
Battery-swapping Technology Can Alleviate these Problems.
- The high upfront cost of batteries can be passed on to an energy operator. And later, you can pay him only whenever you use the battery. In doing so, we are converting the ownership cost to operational cost. Instead of the battery becoming a product, the battery becomes a service. Something that you don’t own but pay to use. Just like you do with an LPG cylinder. You don’t own the cylinder, you just want to use the gas in it and you return it after the LPG cylinder is emptied.
- The time required for swapping the battery can be as low as 2-5 minutes. Thus
making it as quick and seamless as filling up petrol. The energy operator can then
charge the battery before the next customer needs it at the speed he wants. This
reduces the downtime for everyone involved. - All the batteries being concentrated in one place combined with the use of bulk chargers instead of individual chargers will drastically reduce the amount of space required.
What is Battery Swapping Technology?
Battery swapping essentially allows a user to replace the battery of the vehicle while
performing minimum work. The vehicles are so designed that the batteries are very easy to access and replace.
Let me give you an example that you will most probably relate to. I am sure you remember the legendary Nokia 3300 Phone. Yeah, The indestructible one. You just had to pop open the back panel, and you could access the battery, and easily replace it. Whereas now, the only (advised) method is to go to the service center.
The service engineer will then use sophisticated tools (proprietary screws, hot gun, dryer, pliers, etc.) to replace the battery. So, I think you get the idea of what makes a battery accessible and easy to replace (or swap).
Now, let’s just scale it up, say to the scale of a vehicle. Instead of going to the charging station and waiting for your vehicle to get charged, you can instead take a charged battery plug it into your vehicle, and drive away. The person (energy operator) who gave you the charged battery will then take your discharged battery and charge it before the next customer comes in.
How Does Battery Swapping Work?
In a vehicle with battery swapping, the battery is not owned by the user. Rather it is owned by another person who is known as an energy operator. It is the role of the energy operator to buy the batteries, charge them, and keep them ready for you. For this, you pay him a small fee.
So, let’s say that you are going on a long drive from Mumbai to Bangalore, and you realize that you will not be able to complete the entire trip in one charge. You could go to the swap station that is on the way. The energy operator would have kept a battery charged for you. You go in, he changes the battery.
So now you have fully charged batteries and can go all the way. All while taking only 5 minutes to swap rather than the usual hour or so to get charged. The energy operator is in no hurry; he’ll take those discharged batteries and charge them before the customer needs them.
List of Battery Swapping Stations in India
- Azadpur, Delhi by Tata power-DDl- Sun mobility
- Delhi swap station by Charge-up
- Vaishali colony station by battery smart
- Huda parking, Gurugram by Zypp
- Sun Mobility Station, Mahadevapura by Sun Mobility
Battery Swapping Companies in India
Following is the list of Battery Swapping Services Companies in India
- Sun Mobility- Headquartered in Bengaluru | Led by Chetan Maini of Mahindra Reva Fame
- Ola Electric- Headquartered in Bengaluru | Led by Anand Shah
- Lithion Power- Headquartered in Delhi | Led by Piyush Gupta
- Voltup- Headquartered in Mumbai | Led by Siddharth Kabra
- Race Energy- Headquartered in Hyderabad | Led by Arun Sreyas and Gautham Maheswaran
- Esmito- Headquartered in Chennai | Led by Prabhjot Kaur
- Numocity- Headquartered in Bengaluru | Led by Ravikiran Annaswamy
- BatterySmart- Headquartered in Delhi | Led by Pulkit Khurana and Siddharth Sikka
- ChargeUp- Headquartered in New Delhi | Led by Varun Goenka
- Okaya Power Group- Headquartered in New Delhi | A veteran in the battery field who focused on Leadacid batteries before
Battery Swapping Station Cost in India
Image: Cost of Setting up a Battery Swapping Station
The total cost of setting up a battery swapping can vary depending upon the total capacity of batteries, the location of the swapping station, and the complexity of the replacing process. According to Zypp co-founder Akash Gupta, the cost of setting up a battery swap station is maybe 1 Lakh rupees.
The quoted price may be for a station with 20 small battery packs that are replaced manually. On the other hand, the cost can run up to Rs 3.7 crore for a swapping station that caters to cars and hence has multiple large battery packs which are replaced by an automated process.
Battery Swapping Business Model in India
Every energy operator who will be leasing out his charged batteries will always aim to make some profits out of it. To accurately understand his business model, we’ll need to look at his expenses and his income.
Money flowing out
- The cost of the battery
- Energy cost
- Land rental
- Bulk chargers
- Swapping infrastructure
An energy operator will have to keep all the above expenses in mind and set a price for his batteries accordingly. But how is he going to charge you? Per kWh, per Km, per minute, or some other metric?
The energy operator usually charges a customer based on KWh of energy used. And he would also ensure that you cannot charge the battery by yourself.
Problems with Battery Swapping Technology
Is battery-swapping technology the panacea for the EV revolution?
No, not even close.
They, too, have some drawbacks. One, the battery pack needs to be watertight to keep water out, and that the battery pack seals are not traditionally designed to be taken on and off all the time. Two, the cooling and heating system could be more cumbersome.