[TusharK]

Niti Aayog has released a draft battery swapping policy. Under the new policy, the government plans to develop a battery swapping network across India in phases.



In the first phase, metropolitan cities with a population of more than 40 lakh will be prioritized. The second phase will cover all major cities including state capitals, UT headquarters and cities with a population of over 5 lakh.

The draft policy makes provisions for EV makers to sell vehicles with swappable batteries without a battery. This should reduce the purchase cost and will make EVs more accessible.

As per the draft policy, any individual or entity will be free to set up a battery swapping station at any location, provided that technical, safety and performance standards are maintained. This should come as a boon for the EV ecosystem as setting up charging stations at scale in urban areas may not always be feasible.

Source: Economic Times

Link to Team-BHP News

[JShah]

This move could be the next Big push the EV industry needed, the need for affordable but safe EV's is the need of the hour. Half baked products launched in a hurry is just spoiling the market for EV-2 Wheelers.

This move could be a boon for Hero Motocorp who planning to launch their first product under their new Brand "VIDA" in July this year.

[whitewing]

A welcome move indeed !!
While one may argue that it limits the EV manufacturers ability to bring in differentiation. On the positive side, a step like this will incentivize mass production and thereby by bring in efficiencies of scale. Also address the range anxiety issue to a certain extent.

[volkman10]

Carrot and stick approach in Battery Swapping Policy.

While Niti Aayog announced a host of sops for the fledgling EV industry in its battery swapping policy, Roads and Transport Minister, gave a clear diktat of “no room for substandard EV products”. He made it clear that mandatory recalls and stiff penalties would be the norm for organisations associated with scooter fires.

If any company is found negligent in their processes, a heavy penalty will be imposed and a recall of all defective vehicles will also be ordered. Meanwhile companies may take advance action to recall all defective batches of vehicles immediately

Source:

[null]

Good to see this happening. I had commented way back here in this forum (couple of years ago? before that?) that government should come up with physical specs for batteries & the charging points for standardization so that quick battery swapping & fast charging can be a reality for all types of EV scooters.

Now action should be on the EV manufacturers to comply to these standards, in addition to any bonus they may offer as part of their design - basically, a standard swappable battery should work in their scooter irrespective of whether they offer some better technology or not.

Government should also mandate all EVs to use the same kind of charging plugs (or multiple plugs in their vehicles if they can afford to) so that people can easy charge their vehicles without worrying about this aspect.

[TusharK]

Concerns raised over the plan to standardize EV battery sizes

The Niti Aayog is in the process of finalizing the ‘Battery Swapping Policy’ for EVs. However, some parties have expressed concerns over the plan to fix the dimensions of batteries.



The automobile industry and some government departments believe that standardising battery sizes would discourage innovation while favouring a few players who have already started development in this area. It is said that standardization should be based on the performance and safety of batteries instead.

The draft Battery Swapping Policy states, “Additional standards and specifications for batteries regarding battery pack dimensions, charging connectors, etc. will be notified over time with adequate notice to and consultation with industry stakeholders to support a phased transition to interoperability between ecosystems.”

Source: TOI

[man_and_machine]

Standardisation is when something becomes a commodity. This tech and process is still not validated. Its too early, too vigilante and too much specification. In the zeal to be progressive this decision is being taken too early. This is not a AA or AAA type scenario for batteries. Even the battery tech Li-io, Li-Ni or Li-O2 etc is not settled down, there might be more than one. One form factor (for Li-O2 especially) is not even in production.
I don't see any benefit from this, expect some claiming fastest fingers first on creating a spec. This will just prevent anyone who was looking at battery swap to now look for alternatives.
This industry is still working on VC money, and any guard rails will make this less lucrative, that takes off any innovative advantage the companies might want to create.
Maybe this will just create a serve a certain category of vehicles, like e-auto's where there is less field to grab and where this kind of spec might help.
This is a not tech spec, but a manufacturing spec. Too early, too much.

[fhdowntheline]

I have a feeling that this is influenced by potential mass manufacturers or service providers for whom scale would be the requirement without having to worry about bespoke specifications. But like mentioned, its too early, and can take away competitive advantage.

[alpha1]

I have a serious question for battery swappers.
If there is no standard then how do you (they) plan to scale up and be profitable?