battery swapping: EV industry gives thumbs-up to battery swapping policy; experts highlight one concern

The electric vehicle (EV) ecosystem in India welcomed the draft Battery Swapping Policy announced by the Niti Aayog, especially suggestions like having unique identification numbers (UIN) for the assets, but also cautioned that the policy will have to walk a thin line between aiding standardisation and stifling innovation.

The draft policy announced last week lays the groundwork for a battery swapping ecosystem that in theory will make recharging EVs as simple as refuelling conventional vehicles. It provides guidance on areas like interoperability of batteries, traceability and data sharing, business models, fiscal support, grievance redressal, battery reuse and recycling and implementation of battery swapping stations.

The policy will enable easier collaboration between battery manufacturers, automakers, service providers and financers, experts said.

“Guidelines on battery data sharing will provide more room for safety and performance improvement of advanced cell chemistry,” said Sohinder Gill, the director-general of EV industry lobby Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles (SMEV).

The policy also indicated that the GST on batteries could be reduced from the present 18% and brought closer to the 5% rate levied on EVs. This will be a “shot in the arm” of the battery ecosystem, Gill said.

Akshay Singhal, chief executive officer of cell maker Log9 Materials said that the draft policy was a “pretty rounded document” which touched all the key aspects of the battery-as-a-service model.

“Also, the UIN for batteries is an extremely intelligent idea to drive consistency, reliability and accountability of battery solutions being put forward in the market,” he said.

The policy also outlines an open communication protocol and standardisation to ensure interoperability in the battery swapping ecosystem as well as testing standards for such batteries.

Vivekananda Hallekere, the chief executive of Bounce, said that the technology around batteries was fast evolving and the policies and standards should not stifle innovation.

“We are completely aligned with the government on the need to establish standards to promote interoperability of the swapping infrastructure,” he said. “However, we would humbly request the government to form these standards and policies only after testing them on ground and not limiting the assessment only to lab tests.”

Bounce is one of the few companies which is rolling out a battery swapping solution for its electric scooters.

Gill too echoed this concern. “The concept of interoperability using the standardised battery needs to be debated in greater detail as there could be technical challenges,” he said.