Due to the growing popularity of electric scooters, quick charging is also becoming increasingly essential. Battery life is one of the biggest concerns for commuters, but this can be solved by using a swappable battery. Swappable batteries are a better alternative to chargeable batteries, as they are convenient, cost-effective and provide a seamless riding experience.
Let’s begin by understanding what is battery swapping in EVs. Battery-swapping allows users to exchange their drained battery with a fully charged one in minutes. This gives users the liberty to drive their EVs as they please without worrying about the batteries dying mid-journey or excessive waiting time to recharge them. Besides, battery swapping is also seen as a way of lowering the price of electric vehicles. In this article, let’s examine the key aspects of battery swapping vs charging stations and some reasons for using swappable batteries.
Lesser anxiety of battery dying in-between journey
Imagine this, you ride an e-bike with a chargeable battery. Every time you ride the bike, you have to keep track of the battery charge and the distance you can cover within that charge. You can keep letting this anxiety get in the way of your travel or simply switch to a swappable battery that involves way lesser anxiety with enough battery swapping stations at your disposal. Once the battery drains, all you need to do is find the nearest swapping station, and within minutes you are all set to go!
No waiting period
Another major concern with using chargeable batteries is that once the battery drains, the user has to wait for long hours to get it fully charged. This makes it a bit less reliable in times of urgency. Swappable batteries, on the other hand, are a great way to save time without compromising performance. Swappable batteries can be changed in-between journeys and will hardly take up 5-10 mins of your time. So, lesser waiting period.
Can be carried home to recharge
Another major benefit of using a swappable battery is its ability to be charged anywhere. Not just can you swap the battery once it drains, but you can also charge it before use as per your convenience. This can be done even at home, thus granting the user the option to choose between home charging or swapping it at a station.
Cost-efficient
Swappable batteries are also beneficial in bringing down the prices of EVs. Here’s how it will happen. With the provision of swappable batteries, the EVs will be essentially sold without batteries. This also takes away the worry about electric scooter battery life. EV owners will then opt for the battery as a service through a subscription of sorts. But this will surely be an affordable alternative to chargeable batteries.
Ability to adopt a newer battery technology once it is broadly available
Swappable batteries have a greater potential, especially when it comes to their adaptability to adopt newer battery technologies. A major reason is that these batteries are themselves evolving rapidly in the current market. And technological interventions can promise beneficial changes in the battery swapping functionality as well.
Niti Ayog’s Battery swapping policy draft
NITI Aayog released its battery swapping policy draft on April 21st to establish a safe, reliable and cost-effective battery swapping ecosystem across the country. A few key objectives of this policy are as follows:
- Decouple battery costs from upfront costs of EVs by promoting the use of Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) batteries during swapping.
- Granting more flexibility to EV users by developing battery swapping as an alternative to regular charging facilities.
- Promote better lifecycle management of batteries through recycling.
Final thoughts
Putting this in perspective, if fast charging takes a minimum of half an hour, battery switching will take five minutes; thus, saving a total of 25 minutes. But looking beyond these benefits, one must also note that standardisation in swapping batteries is essential and might be the only way forward for faster adoption. But the increasing government initiatives in this direction, constant innovations in this field, and a host of EV start-ups and other companies embracing this technology, definitely give it an edge over chargeable batteries.
If you are looking for the most popular electric two wheeler in Pune with a battery swapping feature, look no further! iVOOMi’s fast-charging electric scooter, Jeet comes with the swappable battery feature. This feature enables you to drive on without worrying about extra charging time or vehicle downtime.
Ready to have an exceptional riding experience? Get in touch with us or book a test drive today!
