Government To Roll Out Battery Swapping Policy By Year-End

Speaking to the Press Trust of India Sudhendu Jyoti Sinha, adviser (Infrastructure Connectivity-Transport and Electric Mobility), NITI Aayog said, "The Battery Swapping Policy is likely to be rolled out by December." Sinha also revealed that the government is working on a proposal that will see the Indian Railways set up electric vehicle charging stations at stations located in towns and cities with populations above 10 lakh.

India's battery swapping policy was first announced in this year's Union Budget by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. During her budget speech, the Minister stated, "Considering the constraint space in urban areas for setting up (electric vehicles) charging stations, a battery swapping policy will be brought out and interoperability standards will be formulated."

Battery swapping is a new phenomenon in the world of electric vehicles and was pioneered in China where EV adoption has been skyrocketing. The process allows EV owners to swap out their depleted battery packs for a fully charged unit.

Battery swapping cuts down the time needed to get a fully charged battery significantly allowing EV owners to get an experience similar to what they would get with an internal combustion engine vehicle at the pumps. The tech allows for faster journeys and minimises turnaround time.

Setting up a battery swapping policy will help ensure the standardisation of battery hardware design allowing customers to swap out batteries made by different manufacturers without any hassle.

Quite a few automakers and fuel suppliers have been exploring battery swapping. Jio-bp, the joint venture between Reliance Industries and British Petroleum has started the process that will lead to the setting up of battery swapping & charging stations across its network of fuel stations. Other players in the battery swapping market include Sun Mobility which provides energy as a service and RacEnergy.

Other big players from the automotive industry that are exploring battery swapping include Japan's Honda which set up its battery sharing and swapping business in India last year. India's largest two-wheeler manufacturer, Hero MotoCorp is another big player looking into battery swapping as a solution. Hero recently partnered up with Taiwan's Gogoro to jump into the world of battery swapping.

One company that is diving headlong into the battery swapping world is Bounce Infinity with its E1 electric scooter that is offered with the option for 'battery as a service. Deliveries of the E1 are set to start later this month and Bounce Energy has already roped in two other EV manufacturers who'll make use of its battery-swapping network in the form of Greaves Retail & BattRE.

Thoughts On India's Upcoming Battery Swapping Policy

India's new battery swapping policy will decide just how quickly automakers and the market will take to EVs. The policy needs to be robust and must provide a series of checks and balances to ensure the rapid adoption of EVs in India while also ensuring high manufacturing and safety standards. Only then can battery swapping and EVs as a whole become a real success in India.