The "battery swapping" revolution: A vision for the future?

The “ battery swapping ", or "swappable battery system" in French, is an alternative to traditional plug-in charging for electric vehicles. This system optimizes charging time by allowing a vehicle's discharged battery to be removed and replaced with a fully charged battery in a matter of minutes at equipped stations. The replaced batteries are stored and then recharged at these swap stations so they can later be used by another vehicle.

Today, China has virtually all vehicles compatible with the “ battery swapping "

China, the (for now) undisputed leader in electric vehicle sales across all segments (passenger cars, light commercial vehicles, and heavy-duty trucks), is also a pioneer in the battery swapping, across all market segments. In 2024, more than 75,000 electric trucks were sold in China (compared with only 3,400 in Europe), accounting for 80% of global sales^[1]. Among them, 40% are compatible with the battery swapping. This system must also rely on an extensive network of replacement stations to ensure its long-term viability. In China, there are currently nearly 400 stations dedicated to heavy-duty vehicles^[2]. NIO, the leading Chinese manufacturer of battery swapping, has more than 3,000 car-sharing stations.

Why is battery-swapping technology growing so rapidly? What are its main advantages?

The main advantage of the system is battery swapping lies in the speed of charging and the reduced downtime of the vehicle. In fact, The battery replacement process takes less than 5 minutes for light-duty vehicles and 10 minutes for heavy-duty vehicles^[3], a range equivalent to that of a full tank of conventional gasoline or diesel. It also helps alleviate existing concerns and, as a result, reduces the safety margins associated with the range of electric vehicles.

In addition, the battery swapping offers an advantage over (ultra-)fast charging stations: the stored batteries can be recharged in a controlled manner and follow an optimal charging cycle. This process not only reduces the power draw on the electrical grid and prevents premature battery degradation (which occurs with fast charging) but also requires a relatively low grid connection capacity. Alternative stations also reduce the need for land, unlike large conventional charging stations. Finally, in the future, it is conceivable that these stations could be interconnected with the power grid and used as an energy storage and balancing system.

But why doesn't this appeal to Europeans?

While certain initiatives have been launched in Europe to launch the battery swapping with Chinese actors in recent years, This is still a minor issue due to the considerable initial investment required. In fact, just as with fast-charging stations, the success of the battery swapping is intrinsically linked to an adequate network coverage and the availability of transfer stations. A few stations may be sufficient in urban areas, while their availability will remain limited on a larger territorial scale.

A second issue related to replacement stations is that of standardization. It is important to ensure a high level of standardization among operators, which is not yet the case today; and each system of battery swapping needs its own network of stations.

Last but not least is the requirement regarding the number of batteries per vehicle, since all vehicles are equipped with a battery at all times, and there must be at least one charged battery available at each charging station to facilitate the swap. According to TELD, China’s largest provider of electric vehicle charging services, an electric car compatible with the battery swapping requires 1.3 batteries^[4]. This 30% increase in batteries also means a 30% increase in battery-related costs, which are very important when buying an electric vehicle, but also a 30% increase in the carbon footprint associated with battery manufacturing, a highly carbon-intensive component when considering the carbon footprint of an electric vehicle (approximately 8% of the total carbon intensity of a large electric SUV in France)^[5].

Nevertheless, the system of battery swapping may help reduce the size of vehicle batteries, because it allows for nearly instantaneous recharging and significantly reduces range anxiety—and thus the need for oversized batteries (provided there is a well-developed network of swap stations). However, this is not yet the case: the current players in the battery swapping, especially for cars, are primarily positioned in the premium vehicle segments, with high-capacity batteries.

Is “battery swapping” the future?

What are the reasons for further promoting this technology, or even prioritizing it over others? From a strictly carbon-emissions perspective, the battery swapping is interesting if it leads to an actual reduction in the size of vehicle batteries by at least 30% (The impact of building battery-swap infrastructure is equivalent to that of charging stations.)

In some cases, this technology can also help accelerate the electrification of vehicles, for example, for the delivery services or ride-hailing services, where downtime for recharging can be costly, as well as for the 2- and 3-wheeled vehicles, for which the system of battery swapping is easy to deploy, as the batteries are very affordable.

For other light-duty vehicles, slow charging at home or at work already meets most daily mobility needs. Fast charging (around 150 kW), used occasionally for long-distance trips, is sufficient, making the system battery swapping not very justified. The latter would entail complexity in terms of infrastructure and a an increase in the number of batteries in circulation, in a fleet that is already oversized in this regard.

On the other hand, For heavy-duty vehicles with high utilization rates (e.g., freight transport) or operating in remote areas (e.g., construction equipment), the battery swap offers real advantages, as it helps reduce the size of onboard batteries, to make vehicles lighter and thus optimize payload capacity, while limiting the demand for instantaneous charging power, which can exceed 1 MW.

If the development of the battery swapping remains uncertain in Europe, it will continue to play a very important role in other countries, particularly in China, where it will continue to grow rapidly alongside conventional charging systems.