• Charging
• Connectors
• Home Charging
• DC Fast Charging
• Battery Swapping
• Bidirectional

Battery Swapping

Battery swapping is a method of charging EVs that involves replacing the depleted battery with a fully charged one at a dedicated station.

Battery swapping is a method of charging EVs that involves replacing the depleted battery with a fully charged one at a dedicated station. Depending on the station and the vehicle, the battery swap process can take as little as three minutes. The swapped battery is then recharged at the station and ready for another use.

Battery swapping requires EVs to have standardized and swappable batteries that robots or humans can easily remove and install. EV owners usually lease or rent the batteries and pay a monthly or per-swap fee for the service. The service provider owns and maintains the batteries and operates the swap stations.

Battery swapping is not a new concept; it was first proposed by Better Place, an Israeli startup that went bankrupt in 2013. However, some companies have revived the idea and implemented it successfully in some markets. One of them is Nio, a Chinese EV maker that offers battery swapping as a service for its models. Nio has built almost 2,000 swap stations in China and Europe. It takes 4-7 minutes to perform a battery swap at a Nio Power Swap station, depending on its version.

Pros

The benefits of battery swapping include:

• Speed: It is much quicker to swap a battery than to fully charge one.
• Battery Health: If your battery is degraded or faulty, you can swap it for a better one.

Cons

The drawbacks of battery swapping include:

• Standardization: Battery swapping requires the brand to maintain a compatible form factor for future models, which can limit innovation.
• Battery Care: Owners may care less about the battery since they don’t own it, leading to faster degradation of the batteries in the swap pool compared to those owned by individual EV owners who are more likely to protect the battery.
• Battery Quality: There is a risk of receiving an older or less efficient battery in return. For example, Nio started providing batteries with 180KW charging, but older ones were 130KW. Swapping could result in getting an older battery.

See the review of the system from Bjørn Nyland below.