Electric Vehicles Battery Swapping: Types, Advantages & Limitations

Everyone is looking for EV charging infrastructure, whether they are manufacturers, electric vehicle owners, or consumers, including those who are planning to buy. Although the present EV charging infrastructure is inadequate to fulfill the government's target of becoming an EV hotspot by 2030. As a result, several EV manufacturers and the government are taking initiatives to establish EV charging stations, ensuring that India has an increasing number of charging stations that encourage the use of electric vehicles.

Given the charging infrastructure required, 'battery swapping' has emerged as the primary alternative to charging stations. It is the ideal option for charging your battery without having to wait for the EV to charge. The drained EV battery can simply be removed from the vehicle and replaced with a fully charged one in a matter of seconds due to battery swapping options.

What is Battery Swapping?

In a nutshell, battery swapping is a method of avoiding charging session wait time by exchanging a drained battery for a fully charged one. The major objective is to align the charging experience with the one everyone is used to from filling up an ICE vehicle.

The excellent thing about this system is that it works for automation. With the use of robotic cranes, the battery replacement time may be reduced to between 6 and 10 minutes - approximately the time it takes to charge a vehicle at a gas station.

Electric Vehicles Battery Swapping

Many manufacturers are also searching into charging station alternatives, such as battery swapping. It is the finest option for charging your battery without having to wait for the EV to charge. The drained EV battery may be removed from the car and replaced with a fully charged one in a matter of seconds thanks to the battery switching possibilities.

The technology is now being tested for a variety of EV categories, including e-2Ws, e-3Ws, e-cars, and even e-buses.

Types of EV Battery Swapping

According to the Government of India's EV charging infrastructure, there are two types of EV battery swapping: Manual and Autonomous.

Manual

The manual battery-swapping station is where batteries are physically put and removed from individual slots, manually. The manual changing stations are modular and occupy little space. Since the battery pack sizes are lower and one or two people can handle the weight, these are used for 2-wheeler and 3-wheeler battery applications.

Autonomous

The robotic arm is used in Autonomous battery swapping options, making the battery swapping process semi or fully automated. Because battery packs are bigger and heavier in 4-wheeler and e-bus applications, mechanical assistance is required. This type of exchange station requires more space and costs more than manual ones.

Read more about battery swapping policy draft released by NITI Aayog here.

Advantages of Battery Swapping

The benefits of a battery swapping process are self-evident:

Quick battery charge 

Domestic charging woes are no longer an issue

Because battery leasing will replace battery ownership, EVs will have a cheaper initial cost

Increased battery life predictability due to regulated charging circumstances.

Limitations of Battery Swapping

After considering the benefits of adopting battery swapping options, it's time to look at the drawbacks. These are the following:

With a battery swapping system, there will be considerably more batteries for the same number of EVs on the road, putting an even greater demand on a limited pool of resources.

There's also the issue of swap batteries having a lesser range because they're disposable.

Higher battery lease expenses over the life of the EV

Separate GST on electric batteries (18%) is higher than batteries sold with EV (5%).

Wrapping Up

Battery swapping is a promising technique that might help electric cars overcome their constraints. It is a quick, effective, and simple way to get an EV back on the road. Furthermore, battery swapping might help cut emissions, improve electric vehicle adoption, and perhaps relieve EV consumers' range anxiety.

Battery swapping may not be a practical solution right now, but technology is only improving. Many more breakthroughs are predicted in the next few years, and they will likely accelerate.

Now that you know about battery swapping, and if you're looking for best electric two wheelers in India, then you're at the right place. TRiDE Mobility offers information on a wide range of best electric scooters, bikes and cycles in India. Would you like to get a test drive? Fill out the form and will get back to you.