The 2024 China International Automotive CTO Conference was held in the bustling city of Wuxi, Jiangsu Province from October 23rd to 25th. This three-day gathering was a gathering of ideas, bringing together a range of renowned experts and chief technology officers (CTOs) from both domestic and international fields. Under the theme of “New Technology, New Engine, New Momentum,” the forum focused on the core of automotive technology innovation, exploring and dissecting the latest trends and breakthroughs that are set to reshape the future of the automotive sector.
Forum 3 was focused on the crucial and relevant battery swapping ecosystem within the automotive industry and was co-organized by IEA HEV TCP Task 48 and Botree on October 25th.
Professionals from the battery swapping industry have shared their insights and perspectives on relevant topics, revealing the growth trends of the battery swapping industry in various application scenarios.
This Special Forum 3 was a showcase of in – depth analysis and visionary thinking, featuring six expert presentations that delved deeply into the subject matter. A group of experts, from various key players in the automotive industry, presented a comprehensive overview of battery swapping, particularly in passenger cars and heavy – duty truck segments. The discussions covered a wide range of topics, from analyzing current market trends in battery – swapping for both types of vehicles to the latest technological advancements driving this rapidly evolving field. They also have a visionary outlook towards the future, discussing potential development directions that could determine the long – term success and sustainability of battery swapping in the automotive industry.
NIO has established a nationwide battery swapping network with success. Zhang Ning, the Technical Head of NIO Battery Swap Alliance, stated that battery swapping technology will continue to evolve and improve in the long term. He emphasized that charging and battery swapping are not exclusive but complementary and collaborative. Utilizing power capacity efficiently can promote the efficient operation of the battery swapping network. Furthermore, the path of shared battery swapping will revolve around shared battery packs and shared battery swapping stations. Based on the existing battery swapping network, shared battery packs will gradually be integrated and eventually consolidated into two to three models.
Wei Qiang, the Deputy General Manager of Energiex New Energy Technology Co., Ltd., stated that the battery swapping industry is closely connected to the automobile, energy, and financial industries and does not exist on its own. The state has clearly defined the direction of new energy vehicle development. It is anticipated that concepts such as “firmly developing new energy” and “avoiding involutionary cutthroat competition” will be extended from the automobile industry to all consumers, forming a broad consensus, thereby promoting the entire automobile industry and the battery swapping sub-sector towards better development.
Wei Minhua, Director of Government &Public Affairs at Aulton New Energy Automotive Technology Co., Ltd., mentioned that the construction of battery swapping stations faces challenges in various aspects such as land resources, urban planning, and power planning, and has a long construction period and requires large capital investments. By standardizing and sharing battery swapping, from different models of the same brand to different models of different brands, the barriers to promoting battery swapping can be effectively reduced.
Liu Dan, the Deputy Secretary-General of the China Battery Swapping Industry Promotion Alliance, stated that the sales volume of battery swapping heavy-duty trucks has seen long-term high-speed growth since 2020, driven by both policies and economic factors. Due to its significant advantages in areas such as floor area efficiency, charging efficiency, transportation efficiency, comprehensive cost, and the extreme utilization of battery life, battery swapping mode has become an essential mainstream technical path in the electrification of heavy-duty trucks. Currently, battery swapping for heavy-duty trucks is expanding from closed and short-distance scenarios to open scenarios, such as medium and long-distance trunk lines. Building an interconnected and interchangeable trunk line battery swapping network has become an industry standard.
Zhang Feng, the Deputy General Manager of Beijing Sheng Energy Technology Co., Ltd., believes that battery swapping is all about achieving the goals of minimizing costs, maximizing efficiency, and exceeding user experience expectations through technological innovation and business model optimization. Taking battery swapping practice in the “Carrot Run” unmanned driving operation as an example, through the use of cloud-based on-duty and fully autonomous automatic battery swapping technologies, the operation efficiency and charging experience have improved in terms of qualitative improvement. The innovative combination of “unmanned battery swapping+ autonomous driving” will become a powerful and productive force in the field of new energy vehicle promotion, transforming travel scenarios, accelerating the transformation of new energy vehicle operations, and promoting the rapid development of autonomous driving technology.
Shen Liang, the Deputy General Manager of Jiangsu Power Investment Yichong New Energy Technology Co., Ltd., stated that compared to the extensive range of passenger vehicle battery swapping services across the country, heavy-duty truck charging is limited to specific sites and it is difficult to achieve cross-city transportation. By combining existing charging station resources with the fast battery swapping charging method, it is possible to support the development of high-quality heavy-duty truck electrification.
In addition to enlightening presentations, a lively round table discussion was another highlight of the event. Moderated by Ma Xiaoli, the esteemed Executive Deputy Secretary – General of the China Automotive Power Battery Industry Innovation Alliance, this round – table brought together industry leaders from some of the most well – known and influential companies in the field. The conversation was lively and broad, delving into the intricate and multi – faceted aspects of business models in the context of battery swapping. Profit – making, a crucial factor for the success and growth of any business, was also a key topic of discussion. The participants analyzed various strategies and potential opportunities to ensure that battery swapping operations can be technologically advanced and economically sustainable. They also explored the future of battery – swapping technology, speculating on how advancements in this field could further revolutionize the way we think about vehicle power solutions and transportation in general.
In conclusion, the battery swapping industry is experiencing rapid growth in various fields. Technological advancements and model explorations in various applications are rapidly advancing, which are expected to have a profound impact on the development of future new energy vehicles and the transformation of travel modes.
Leave a Reply