Embracing Synergy: The Future of Electric Vehicle Charging and Battery Swapping

Recently, CATL and NIO signed a strategic cooperation agreement. According to the agreement, both parties will work towards unifying industry technology standards and deepen collaboration in both capital and business areas, aiming to create the world’s largest and most advanced battery swapping service network for passenger vehicles. This partnership is not only a significant step for these industry giants but is also seen as a key turning point in the maturation of the battery swapping model.

There are primarily two main methods for recharging electric vehicles: charging and battery swapping. Compared to charging, the battery swapping model can significantly reduce the time needed to power up electric vehicles, making it comparable to refueling a traditional car. For instance, NIO’s battery swapping stations can complete the process in just three minutes, even under extreme temperatures, with the fourth-generation stations reducing this time to just 2 minutes and 24 seconds. Additionally, the ‘separation of vehicle and battery’ sales model can effectively lower the purchase costs for consumers, making it more user-friendly. Battery swapping also eliminates the need for users to exit their vehicles, addressing common issues such as occupied charging spots and heavy charging cables, which is particularly beneficial for urban residents without fixed parking spaces.

However, the battery swapping model is a capital-intensive approach that requires significant investment and has a long development cycle. Currently, due to the lack of standardized battery technology, achieving economies of scale and establishing a complete business cycle remains challenging, leading to some skepticism about its future prospects. As charging technology continues to evolve, with faster options such as ‘fast charging’, ‘supercharging’, and even ‘flash charging’, discussions about the necessity of battery swapping have intensified. Some companies have also fueled anxieties regarding the future of battery swapping by promoting the imminent production of solid-state batteries, with some even asserting that “now is the time for the battery swapping model to exit the stage.”

Such skepticism is often shortsighted and lacks a scientific and rational basis. In reality, whether it’s fast charging, supercharging, or flash charging, these methods are more suited for emergency charging scenarios. For example, when a vehicle’s battery is running low and urgent travel is required, or during long-distance trips where charging stations are sparse, fast charging plays an irreplaceable role.

However, frequent reliance on ultra-fast charging can lead to rapid battery degradation, ultimately causing issues for users regarding battery maintenance and overall vehicle use. In China, the typical warranty period for electric vehicle batteries is around eight years. From 2025 to 2032 alone, nearly 20 million electric vehicle batteries will reach the end of their warranty period, leading users to face challenges such as battery warranty expirations, mismatched lifespans between vehicles and batteries, and high replacement costs.

Regarding solid-state batteries, based on current global research progress, they still face three major challenges: technology, manufacturing processes, and costs. For example, the ‘solid-solid interface’ issue is unlikely to be resolved in the short term, and material costs for solid-state batteries are significantly higher than those for existing liquid batteries. Industry experts generally believe that large-scale production of solid-state batteries is still a long way off, and the semi-solid batteries that have been introduced so far should not be confused with solid-state batteries.

The societal value of the battery swapping model extends beyond enhancing user charging experiences; it also involves the scientific management of batteries throughout their entire lifecycle. Batteries are not merely storage devices; their performance can fluctuate based on usage conditions, charging and discharging methods, and frequency of use. Under traditional models, each battery is tied to individual vehicles, leading to inefficient management and suboptimal usage. Additionally, since batteries are owned by users, manufacturers must repurchase old batteries for processing, which poses significant challenges due to the dispersed nature of users and the variability in battery types across different vehicle models. However, through the battery swapping model, centralized battery management can identify performance and status issues promptly, enabling effective charging, maintenance, and recycling, aligning with the principles of a circular economy and green development.

From the perspective of national energy strategy, the battery swapping model holds unique energy synergy value. Each battery swapping station serves as a distributed energy storage node. When a nationwide battery swapping network is established, it will create the neural pathways of a smart energy internet. This vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology allows electric vehicles to act as mobile energy storage stations, playing a crucial role in enhancing the flexibility and stability of power systems, facilitating efficient absorption of renewable energy, and optimizing the economic operation of power systems. As the capacity of renewable energy installations in China continues to expand, the flexible peak-shaving capabilities of battery swapping stations are expected to become instrumental in managing the variability of wind and solar power. This is also a deeper reason why the government strongly supports the construction of battery swapping stations and the promotion of swapping vehicles.

Ultimately, charging and battery swapping are not mutually exclusive; rather, they are complementary technologies that coexist. In the face of the transformative waves of electrification, automation, and low-carbon development, China’s vast market provides ample space for technological and model innovation. It is essential to avoid oversimplifying the relationship between charging and battery swapping and to embrace a diverse mindset of ‘chargeable, swappable, and upgradable’. As charging networks integrate with battery swapping systems, as ‘private pile sharing’ looks towards ‘battery banks’, and as ultra-fast charging technology merges with modular battery swapping, the sparks from these innovations will illuminate the path toward high-quality development in the electric vehicle sector. Perhaps, as the century-long history of the automotive industry demonstrates, truly great innovations are not about single-choice victories, but rather the wisdom of multiple-choice solutions.