Battery-swapping is one of the growing areas in the electrification of mobility, where batteries are swapped after each use and replaced with fully charged ones. As with other segments of electric mobility, battery-swapping is also being looked at by the Indian government to identify areas where positive interventions can be made. While battery-swapping has been growing on its own, steps to sustain that expansion and ensure it continues are expected to be unveiled soon.
The new norms to be announced by the government would have the safety, security, and growth of the technology as the guiding framework. They would also give the industry the option to choose the technology it best sees fit and which would help in scaling up rapidly. The focus on safety would ensure that users of the technology can handle it without concerns regarding the asset. Finally, a systems approach to creating an open network for battery-swapping would ensure there is seamless interaction between the different stakeholders in the ecosystem, leading to rapid growth.
While the interoperability of batteries has benefits, the government is likely to go for a market-led approach as it feels that the industry would arrive at it in a phased manner. Prescribing guidelines on the size or shape of batteries would also adversely impact existing investments and impede rather than boost the growth of battery-swapping. Instead, the focus would be on ensuring that batteries fulfil ergonomic standards that make it easier for end-users to handle them. While users care about the capabilities of batteries such as range, ensuring that these batteries are safe, secure, and easy to use is also a crucial factor in the adoption of the technology.
The new norms would also emphasise the localisation of parts for batteries as it is crucial for sustaining growth in the long run. For ensuring that supply chains remain resilient, providing security over supplies, and reducing costs, localisation is key. In the absence of localisation, it would be difficult to establish standards and norms for components such as connectors for batteries. The way that the government might go about it is to put in place the manufacturing ecosystem before setting standards on components.
The area that the government feels it has the most role to play, and which would be the focus of the norms, is creating an ecosystem for battery-swapping. It would bring the different players together and make it seamless for them to interact, thus providing the base for scaling rapidly. The battery-swapping network is complex and has multiple stakeholders – battery leasers, investors, kiosk owners, and drivers. In the absence of an ecosystem, it is difficult for these players to work in concert with each other and move the industry forward. It is thus essential that there is a way for them to interact with and derive gains without facing disruptions. This would require an external party who can help with the establishment and enforcement of norms, to put in place digital and administrative frameworks, and provide assurances that any disruptions would receive compensation. As with areas like digital payments, where the government’s creation of the framework allowed for the technology to see rapid growth, a similar approach would see the swift rollout of battery-swapping.
For battery-swapping to realise its potential and help in the rapid transition to e-mobility, the government feels that a coordinated move between industry and government is needed. One where the industry and market are left to choose what they are best at, such as technology. And where the government would step in and provide guidance, like providing the framework and helping establish conditions of growth to scale up rapidly.
