The electric vehicle landscape is fast evolving and rapidly growing as the global drive to save the planet gains momentum. The coming years will see many more EVs take to the roads and in India, it is expected that 80% of two and three-wheelers, 40% of buses, and 30 to 70% of cars will be electric vehicles by 2030, according to NITI Aayog. The “net-zero” 2070 dream also drives the increased focus on electric mobility.
A Solution to Accelerate EV Adoption
Though the adoption of EV is slowly increasing, the biggest hindrance has been solutions that can enable battery charging. As this scale is achieved and an increased number of charging stations are built, the waiting time for charging batteries will be the next big challenge. This is where battery swapping can help ease the transition to driving greater adoption of electric vehicles.
Industry manufacturers and technology enthusiasts are working on solutions to make EVs easy to charge, more affordable and economical to operate. Battery charging is one such technology that can provideall these benefits to fleet operators.
Battery swapping gained attention when Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman talked about Government’s intention to roll out a battery swapping policy when presenting the Union Budget for FY 2022-23.In April 2022, NITI Aayog, the Govt Think Tank also released the draft battery-swapping policy targeted at electric two-wheelers and three-wheelers. The policy intends to expedite large-scale adoption of EVs and proposed subsidies to firms manufacturing swappable batteries, incentives for EVs with swappable batteries and reduction of GST, among other things.
With battery swapping technology, a user can replace the depleted EV battery with a fully charged one at a swapping station. Such a station generally has the facility to charge multiple batteries simultaneously. Battery leasing opens up many opportunities for fleet owners who have range anxiety or are afraid of the cost involved in purchasing a new battery. All a user is required to do is locate a swapping station, swap the depleting battery and go to work while the empty battery is put on charge. No waiting time, and absolutely hassle free journeys!
Battery swapping can bring huge momentum to EV adoption in India. While EV users in India have grown exponentially, EV penetration levels are still very low — less than 1% of the automobile market as of FY20. The growth of EVs requires enormous investment as it is important to build a sustainable ecosystem with a charging network, energy grid, scrappage centers, energy operators and battery re-mining. In addition, it is also important to find a more sustainable option out of battery/vehicle reuse and scrappage.
According to a research by Greenpeace East Asia, over 12 million tonnes of lithium-ion batteries will retire by 2030. These batteries need raw materials such as lithium, cobalt and nickel that harm the environment. Even when they retire, they create a lot of electronic waste. This is also a significant reason why battery swapping is gaining attention in countries worldwide. Industry players are working on solutions to keep the battery in use for longer in alternative sectors and better ways to discard dead batteries and extract valuable metals out of them to keep materials in circulation.
Battery cost constitutes over one-third of the total cost for an electric vehicle. If these batteries are sold separately, it will shift the upfront cost to the energy operator’s network. Battery swapping can play a key role in this as it will help build a supply chain network to boost EV adoption.
Roadmap to Adopt Swapping
To enhance electric mobility and change the existing ecosystem, a proper roadmap needs to be followed.
1. Standardization of Battery Technology
To make battery switching easier, certain innovations to standardize the battery technology are required. This includes standardization of electric power control unit, pack size, battery design, output performance per unit. This will give a much-neededpush to battery swapping and ultimately EV adoption.
2. Subscription for Battery Swapping
A subscription model for batteries can boost customer confidence in the technology and enhance its adoption.
3. Building co-reliance
Interoperability is key in enhancing electric mobility. While it is important to work on the infrastructure of land, parking space and charging infrastructure; it is equally important to identify value chain propositions for urban local bodies, users and operators in the swapping process.
4. Circular Economy of Vehicles
In India, scrapping incentives are available only on older Bharat Stage-II & BS-III vehicles. Extending these incentives to BS-IV and BS-VI vehicles, which, when surrendered are leveraged for EV conversion and can do wonders. Additionally, manufacturer buy-back guarantee is also a great idea. Also, getting the carbon credit value chain in scrapping can incentivize a faster adoption of EVs.
The Way Forward
According to the International Energy Agency, electric car sales more than doubled in 2021 compared to 2020. However, the sales accounted for just 9% of the global car market.
Globally, transportation emissions account for 15% of greenhouse gas emissions and the world needs to control these emissions through EVs and other environment friendly innovations. Speeding up EV adoption is absolutely vital if the world wants to meet its climate goals.
Though battery swapping technology is not commonplace in the Indian market, there is a significant presence of charging stations. The focus should be on the creation of a robust swappable battery network, mirroring the existing network of fuelling stations to facilitate seamless operations.
The industry can leverage investment from private players for the sustenance of energy operators and running the operations of the supply chain network. This synergy is important for the smooth operations of the EV sector and to enhance its growth.
