Energetica India Magazine nº88 March-April 2020

It would seem clear from all this, that without addressing these overarching issues,a rosy picture of the road ahead for the Indian EV market would be an imprudent one to paint. This is where the battery swapping solution comes into the picture. Not only will it eliminatethe unnecessary waiting time as- sociated with charging, it will also reduce the size and weight of batteries in vehicles and ensure an increased run-time, but also help with more optimal land use at the macro-economic level. Battery Swapping Solution The creation of a battery swapping ecosystem is an excellent solution to the conundrum presented above, and therein lies the key to breaking the barriers to adoption of electric vehicles in a big way. A battery swapping (or switching) station is a place or commer- cial outlet at which a vehicle’s discharged battery pack can be immediately swapped for a fully charged one, eliminating entire- ly the delay involved in waiting for the vehicle’s battery to charge. For vehicle owners, a battery swapping solution would not only mean no upfront capital cost of the battery, but also eliminate the recurring cost of ownership, maintenance and frequent replace - ment of batteries. Instead, for the end-user, a comprehensively designed and structured swapping model offers a ‘plug and play’ solution to all the problems associated with EV batteries. With a strong dealership network in place, such a model would also effectively solve the issue of ‘range anxiety’ (the limited mileage of an EV due to the problem of limited charge of bat- tery), with multiple outlets available for swapping of batteries as and when needed. A battery swapping system also eliminates the requirement for heavy investment in infrastructure, while instead giving rise to new opportunity for the micro entrepreneur.While EV owners will be the prime beneficiaries of battery swapping stations, power generation companies stand to gain as well, as this would offer another steady revenue stream for energy sales. The econom- ic viability of such an ecosystem is a win-win situation for all stakeholders. All this makes battery swapping an excellent and imminently viable alternative to the fixed battery solution, particularly for the urban 2- and 3-wheeler segments which presently account for over 80% of vehicles running on Indian roads. It goes without saying that a solidly executed battery swapping system will spur the adoption of EVs and act as a game-changer in the Indian automotive industry as a whole. energetica INDIA- March-April_2020 41 ELECTRIC VEHICLE