India to soon have battery swapping policy for EVs, a concept popular in China, Europe

Battery swapping or battery-as-a-service model allows customers to replace the discharged batteries of EVs with fully-charged ones at dedicated stations. EV owners can save on battery purchase cost by swapping and also address shorter range issues. The service requires minimum infrastructure as compared to charging at stations and is less time consuming. These advantages make future adoption of cleaner transport more viable.

Owing to the high penetration of EVs in Sweden, Norway and the Netherlands, battery swapping is popular in Europe and has also gained widespread acceptance in China.

Since 2000, Chinese EV maker NIO has built a network of 700 battery swapping stations across the country, which lets NIO car owners change to a fully-charged battery in three minutes.

Earlier this month, China's Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd (CATL) launched a battery swap service called EVOGO that would allow EV owners to swap car batteries in a minute. CATL plans to set up swap stations in 10 cities in China, Reuters reported.

Chinese automotive company Geely has announced its plans to set up 5,000 battery swapping stations globally by 2025.

Outside China, Honda Motor, Yamaha Motor and scooter maker Piaggio have collaborated to develop swappable batteries for light electric vehicles.

However, the concept of battery swapping has not taken off well in the US, Bloomberg reported. Electric car maker Elon Musk had entered the battery swapping industry last decade but abandoned the project ultimately due to poor uptake.

Meanwhile, Uber has partnered with San Francisco-based start-up Ample to offer battery swapping services to its drivers in California.

Although at a nascent state, the EV market in India is expected to grow at 90 percent compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) in a decade to become a $150-billion industry by 2030, consulting firm RBSA Advisors said in a report earlier. However, most companies argue that apart from the high cost of battery, lack of charging infrastructure is also a worry for buyers.

Swapping will reduce the range anxiety of EV buyers and create economies of scale in battery production, Reuters quoted Shamsher Dewan, vice president at ratings agency ICRA, as saying.