Battery swapping, once considered an outdated solution for faster charging on the go, is back — with the world’s largest battery supplier CATL and the kickstart of its entire business. business around it.
That business, called Evogo, makes clear sense as long-term reductions in battery costs have reversed course, largely due to supply constraints. Most electric vehicle owners tend to buy cars with larger batteries to eliminate range worries, when only 10-20% of the total capacity of the battery is needed for daily use. “They had to pay a high sunk cost for an electrical capacity that was rarely needed,” the company calculates.
On terms that customers, automakers and regulators will all like, it’s a plan that allows for cheaper electric cars and much more.
Exchange battery CATL Evogo
Evogo will revolve around an “innovative modular battery swap solution” that uses standardized battery blocks and has “high compatibility with vehicle models.”
That comes in the form of a new bar battery — nicknamed Choco-SEB and designed with battery sharing in mind, supporting cell-to-pack technology and over 160 watt-hours per kilogram of energy density, with volumetric energy density 325 Wh/L.
CATL says each 26.5 kWh block could allow for a driving range of about 200 kilometers (124 miles). And the idea is that you might only need one of these blocks for your daily commute, while three of these will include a long-range battery, with customers at battery swap points potentially swapping only one block or all three if needed.
Exchange battery CATL Evogo
Exchange battery CATL Evogo
Exchange battery CATL Evogo
Likewise, a customer can rent a block of the same vehicle but rent an additional block if needed for a long trip.
One of the biggest barriers to battery swapping today is compatibility and the wide range of different cell formats, packaging methods, and cooling strategies. But CATL says the swap system is compatible with “80% of the global BEV-based models currently on the market, and all BEV-based models will be released globally within three years.” next”. That would include Tesla, which set up a battery swap test program in 2014 and give up the idea a short time later.
The new swap-friendly package contains a wireless battery management system (BMS) and no components on the outside of the package other than the high-voltage terminals. It is compatible with existing built-in chargers and home charging.
Evogo’s swap station will take up about three parking spaces, according to the company, with 48 battery blocks in stock and a swap time of just one minute for a single block. The system is designed to be compatible not only with small to midsize passenger vehicles, but also with logistics and delivery vehicles—So swap stations have also been designed around this.
Exchange battery CATL Evogo
Nio is the only automaker to focus significantly on battery swaps. Last year, it announced plans to have 4,000 swap stations globally by 2025, with its proprietary solution providing full-time battery swapping in about five minutes. In the US, the Bay Area startup Ample claims to have a modular solution Can be used on a variety of vehicles. It is working with Uber to demonstrate the technology on a fleet of air-cooled, Nissan Leafs vehicles, but it remains unclear how the solution communicates with various liquid-cooled systems.
For Evogo, an app will link customers to a swap service to stop batteries while on the road.
Initially, according to the company, Evogo will be launched in 10 cities. More information on compatible models and platforms coming soon.
