India can be a world leader in battery swapping: report

The paper covers vital aspects of the battery ecosystem such as prevalent business models, government policies, incentives, opportunities, global best practices, and active case studies from select states and swapping operators.

“We envision a future where battery swapping is an integral part of our mobility,” the report titled, ‘Battery Swapping: India’s opportunity for global dominance’ said. “The immediate tangible benefits of the battery swapping technology are apparent. However, a more important and exciting benefit is the broad potential of technology to realise a green and sustainable future.”

It said that the government’s recent push towards battery swapping as a complement to fixed charging through the draft battery swapping policy indicates that the government too recognises that India has an opportunity to become a world leader in battery swapping.

“(The) EV industry is an extremely dynamic industry, and the government of India doesn’t want to stifle innovation by prioritizing any one technology over another,” the report stated. “Government’s viewpoint is to stay technology agnostic when it comes to any part of the EV value chain be it the vehicle powertrain, or battery chemistries or EV infra (fixed charging and swapping).”

The report added that several factors work in India’s favour – be it that it is a large auto market, the high density of ecommerce companies and last-mile delivery services, the price-sensitive nature of Indian consumers, or the Central and State Government’s push towards EV adoption – all of which contribute to building a sound ecosystem.

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It said that the operational ecosystem for battery swapping typically involves local DISCOMs, land agencies, Vehicle OEMs, battery manufacturers, fleet operators, etc. in addition to the battery swapping operator.

“The battery swapping ecosystem is nascent and there are immense opportunities for introducing solutions to tackle the existing challenges. An attempt in this regard has been made through NITI Aayog’s Draft Battery Swapping Policy which proposes on reducing tax rate differential of batteries and EVSE, backs fiscal incentives, prioritizes metro cities for swapping networks, and also advocates for interoperability,” the report said.

It went on to add that in the future, the application areas shall not be limited to only the two and three-wheeler segments alone and that larger vehicles such as four-wheelers, buses, and trucks shall also find utility in battery swapping.