Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) [300750:CH], the world’s largest electric vehicle (EV) battery maker, has set up a battery-swapping joint venture (JV) with Chinese-ride hailing platform Didi, as reported by the South China Morning Post on January 28. The JV will quickly deploy a large-scale battery-swapping network for ride-hailing services in China. As part of the collaboration, the two companies will also promote the adoption of EVs supporting swappable batteries and explore partnerships in areas such as storage-integrated EV charging facilities. CATL underscored the new JV’s potential to improve the efficiency of public EV charging and make the transport sector greener.

Battery swapping is an innovative technology that enables EVs to exchange a depleted battery pack for a fully charged new one within a few minutes, serving as an alternative to recharging the vehicle at a charging station, which typically takes around 20 minutes. Thanks to this advantage and the support from the Chinese government, battery-swapping stations have been expanding more rapidly than fixed charging sites in China. Last year, the number of battery-swapping stations in China surged from 2,000 in January to 3,567 by the end of December, marking an 80% growth. During the same period, China’s fixed charging facilities increased from 1.8 million to 2.7 million, rising by 50%. Last June, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) pledged support for businesses’ efforts to jointly establish standards for battery specifications and swap techniques.

Sources:

https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3250059/electric-car-battery-giant-catl-teams-didi-share-swapping-tech-ride-hailing-fleet-new-joint-venture

https://www.yicaiglobal.com/news/catl-didi-join-hands-on-battery-swapping

https://technode.com/2024/01/29/catl-didi-to-build-battery-swap-facilities-for-ride-hailing-cars/