The future of battery swapping in India: What to expect

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MUMBAI, 6 July 2023: The battery swapping policy, which was proposed by the Indian government to make electric vehicle (EV) charging quick and convenient, seems to have been stuck in limbo after strong opposition from the industry.

EVs traditionally come with fixed batteries that can be charged using a power supply. However, for mass adoption of EVs, reliable charging networks are a prerequisite. Apart from the infrastructure needs, charging takes much longer. Towards this, battery swapping is considered an alternative.

Battery swapping is a technique where discharged batteries of an EV are exchanged with the charged ones, offering the customer flexibility to charge them separately. It saves time, space, and cost incurred.

A draft policy was introduced to establish standards for battery dimensions and specifications for swapping in two and three-wheeler EVs, enabling easy and efficient battery swapping regardless of the vehicle or battery make.

However, industry stakeholders raised concerns about unfair advantages for specific original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and the feasibility of implementing standardization within the current framework.

Here is a timeline of key events related to the battery swapping scheme from its proposal to the present scenario:

February 2022: The battery swapping scheme was first mentioned by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Union Budget 2022 presentation.
April 2022: Niti Aayog released the draft policy and invited comments from different stakeholders.
November 2022: The department of science and technology (DST) and Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) jointly launched a platform to develop new EV batteries to suit Indian requirements.
January 2023 — May 2023: A closed-door meeting chaired by Union minister Piyush Goyal discussed scrapping the draft policy amid stiff opposition from industry players.
July 2023: Companies argue that standardisation of batteries would take away the competitive advantage.

The future of the battery swapping policy in India is uncertain at this point. It remains to be seen whether the government will be able to address the concerns of the industry and move forward with the policy.