CATL Plans Big Battery Swapping Push – CleanTechnica

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CATL has unveiled two standardized Choco-SEB battery packs and plans to launch one new car model that uses the packs with partners in each of the next 10 quarters, according to a report by CnEVPost. The Chinese battery company announced the launch of standardized battery packs for passenger cars and unveiled aggressive infrastructure plans at a Choco-SEB (swapping electric block) conference at its headquarters in Xiamen on December 18, 2024. The company launched EVOGO — its battery swap brand — on January 18, 2022. The brand is operated by a subsidiary, Contemporary Amperex Energy Service Technology.

Previously, CATL planned on using small swappable battery packs so that a vehicle could use one or more packs depending on its range requirements. At today’s event, the company made a significant change to that concept, turning swappable battery packs into a single pack that a conventional vehicle would use. The two new standardized Choco-SEB battery packs today will be known as #20 and #25.

CATL Battery Swap Technology

CATL will continue to push for the standardization of swappable battery packs, with their core feature being the standardization of battery sizes, said Robin Zeng, founder, chairman, and CEO of the battery maker. He believes that by 2030, battery swap, charging at home, and charging at public charging stations will each fulfill one third of the needs of electric car owners. The #20 Choco-SEB pack is for A0-class EVs, while the #25 pack is for larger A- and B-segment vehicles. Both batteries have lithium iron phosphate and lithium ternary options.

For the #20 pack, the LFP battery has a capacity of 42 kWh and provides a range of about 400 kilometers. The pack based on lithium nickel cobalt ternary chemistry has a 52 kWh capacity and provides a range of 500 kilometers. For the #25 battery pack, the pack based on the LFP chemistry has a capacity of 56 kWh and provides a range of 500 kilometers. The pack based on ternary chemistry has a capacity of 70 kWh and can provide a range of 600 kilometers.

The CATL battery swap service adopts a battery as a service strategy similar to that pioneered by NIO, which allows the customer to just buy (or lease) the vehicle body and rent the battery. NIO allows customers to purchase vehicles that include the battery, which CATL cannot do, as it does not manufacture vehicles — yet. The company has talked recently about developing an electric car platform of its own that other companies could buy to use as the basis for their own EVs.

In terms of pricing, customers can rent the #20 LFP battery for RMB 369 ($51) per month. That price includes up to 3000 km of driving. Or they can select unlimited mileage for RMB 469 ($64) per month. For the #25 LFP pack, the price is RMB 499 ($68) per month for up to 3,000 kilometers of driving or RMB 599 ($82) per month for unlimited mileage. No prices for the ternary battery packs have been announced as of yet.

Along with these details, CATL announced that it has signed subscription orders for 107,500 Choco-SEB batteries with more than 30 companies, including Changan Automobile and China FAW Group, and that all its new battery technologies will be used in those packs in the future. It also says it has entered into partnerships with a number of car companies to jointly launch 10 models that using the Choco-SEB battery packs. On November 22, Changan, CATL, and CAES held a signing ceremony for the battery swap program and showcased the Oshan 520 electric sedan, a sub-brand of Oshan that supports battery swapping. On December 14, China FAW Group’s Hongqi brand announced that it will co-develop models using Choco-SEB technology with CATL.

CATL also unveiled ambitious infrastructure plans, saying its battery swap stations will reach 1,000 next year, with a medium-term plan to build 10,000 stations to support the business. The first 1,000 battery swap stations will be built by CAES, while the next 10,000 battery swap stations will be built by CAES and partners. CATL’s long-term goal is to reach 30,000 battery swap stations. The only other company that is pursuing battery swapping technology is NIO, which has opened more than 2,700 battery swap stations in China and has plans for at least 5,000. It also has about 60 swap stations in northern Europe. Changing a battery using a NIO swap station takes less than five minutes.

Is Battery Swapping The Future?

“By 2030, battery swapping, home charging, and public charging stations will share the market,” Robin Zeng, the CEO of CATL, predicted this week. According to ABC News, he appealed to corporate partners to work together to “build more convenient, more economical, and safer services for customers, promoting a brand new way of life.”

China auto market analyst Lei Xing told ABC News he believes that swapping batteries can complement China’s charging network. “I don’t see it becoming mainstream, but I do see it becoming a key part of that infrastructure landscape,” he said. Michael Davidson, a renewable energy expert at the University of California, San Diego, said he thinks that charging will dominate “and maybe there’ll be some battery swapping options mixed in there.”

Maybe so, but it is safe to assume that CATL has done its homework and has reason to believe plenty of drivers will choose the battery swap option. For one thing, the cost of renting the batteries is quite modest when you consider it eliminates the cost of electricity to charge them separately. For another, it ensures drivers they will always have access to the latest battery technology. Finally, it eliminates concerns about battery degradation and having to pay to replace a battery pack once the factory warranty expires. Those are some pretty major considerations in favor of battery swap technology.

The concept is ideal for fleet vehicles — taxis, buses, and commercial trucks — that have a standard model and often travel fixed routes. CATL launched a small pilot project two years ago aimed at taxis and will start the rollout of its new battery swap service with fleets before expanding to individual drivers at a later date, said Zhang Kai, the deputy president of CATL’s battery swapping subsidiary.

Swapping is still faster than fast charging. An EVOGO swap stations can change a battery pack in 100 seconds, said Yang Jun, the CEO of the subsidiary. Time is money for taxi and truck drivers. Wang Wubing, a driver at China’s popular Didi ride-hailing service, said at an EVOGO station in the city of Xiamen that he swaps batteries to save time so he can pick up more customers, but it is more expensive than charging. That seems a little hard to believe given that the larger LFP battery with unlimited mileage rents for just $82 a month. One would think electricity for someone who is driving all day every day would cost a lot more than that.

There’s also the fact that some people live in condos or apartments where they have no option to charge at home. In such cases, battery swapping can help greatly to make driving an EV comparably convenient to driving a gas-powered car.