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Producer: Electric Planet News
Author: Yu Fei
At 3:30 p.m. on January 18, TIMES Electric Service, a subsidiary of CATL, held its first press conference online, releasing the power exchange service brand EVOGO "Lexing Battery Swap" and the overall solution of combined power exchange.
At this point, the Ningde era officially entered the power exchange track.
It is still a high-information density style full of ningde era characteristics, and in just 11 minutes of formal video, the technical details, key parameters and planning layout of the EVOGO brand have been fully displayed.
Before entering the main text, let's summarize a few numbers for everyone:
"Chocolate Changer" provides a single battery with a range of 200 km, with a maximum of 3 bicycles;
Adapt to A00-class to C-class models, and adapt to models developed by 80% of the world's pure electric platforms that are already on the market and will be available in the next 3 years;
A single substation stores 48 "chocolate batteries", which can be replaced in 1 minute;
The first batch will be to promote EVOGO power swaps in 10 cities.
"Ningde era hopes to break through itself", this is our first impression after watching the conference.
The power exchange network can improve the safety of the power grid through distributed energy storage to cut peaks and fill valleys. On the other hand, "rechargeable and replaceable" brings new choices for users' green smart travel, and forms a full-scenario energy replenishment method with charging.
And when the power exchange technology meets the Ningde era, the story seems to be more exciting.
The Ningde era, which has ranked first in China and even the global power battery loading volume for many years, has long been one of the most critical names in the field of new energy.
Embarking on the track of power exchange, for the Ningde era with the ability to integrate raw materials to the whole package system, aiming to open up research and development, production, use, recycling and other links, and finally realize the closed loop of the whole life cycle management business, it is not only logical, but also a bit of "the trend of the times".
The Oil Age gave birth to many thunderous names: "Two Barrels of Oil", BP, Shell... They drove human industry for a hundred years.
When we enter the era of new energy, will there be a new definition of the five words "energy enterprise"? Has CATL taken the lead in going beyond the category of "suppliers" and creating a prototype of a new form of energy enterprises?
Let's go back to the press conference and feel it.
1. 60 seconds "Come to a piece"
At the end of the press conference, Zeng Yuqun, chairman of ningde times, took a chocolate and asked everyone if they wanted to "come to a piece" of Easter eggs, and had already booked the famous scene of the new energy industry in 2022.
Chocolate also represents the key product of EVOGO's battery swap technology , the "Choco SEB Chocolate Switcher".
The three products together form EVOGO's "Combined Power Exchange Solution".
1. Replace the power block
The power exchange block is a battery specially designed for sharing the power exchange production, based on the CTP high-efficiency group technology of the Ningde era, with a weight energy density of more than 160Wh/kg and a volume energy density of more than 325Wh/L.
Such an energy density can be determined that the initial power exchange blocks are all ternary lithium routes, but the Ningde era said that their power exchange will not be stuck to ternary or iron lithium.
According to the official video, the capacity of a single chocolate exchange block is about 26.5kWh, and a single power exchange block is expected to provide an endurance of about 200 kilometers, and the bicycle can support a maximum of 3 power exchange blocks, and the endurance can reach about 600 kilometers.
More importantly, the power exchange block can be freely combined, that is, it can only be installed with 1 to 2 pieces, and it can also be matched with 3 pieces. In addition, according to the official video, the replacement blocks of some models support vertical arrangement.
Chen Weifeng, general manager of Times Electric Service, said that daily use will only use 10%-20% of electricity, but for the occasional long-distance demand, consumers pay a lot of sunk costs - "car and electricity separation", which is the methodology of Ningde Era to simultaneously resolve the mileage, the convenience of power replenishment and the purchase and use cost.
However, the traditional power battery not only has a module in the package, but also a large number of BMS-related wiring harnesses, and multiple insertions and removals will definitely affect the wiring harness. How to solve this problem in the Ningde era?
The answer is wireless BMS, which is also the first time this technology has been applied in the CATL era.
Wireless BMS allows only high-voltage positive and negative interfaces on the outside of the power exchange block, which not only reduces the weight and volume of the wiring harness, but also improves the reliability of the plugged and unplugged parts.
The flexible combination of strategies + wireless BMS makes EVOGO's exchange block extremely adaptable.
Officials said that "chocolate" can be applied to passenger cars and logistics vehicles from A00 class to Class B and Class C; it can be adapted to models developed by 80% of the world's pure electric platforms that have been listed and will be launched in the next three years.
On the issue of adaptation, the official current disclosure of information is that "most of the models developed by the electrification platform are adapted and do not need to make too many changes".
2. Quick change station and APP
The meeting point between the chocolate change block and the vehicle is at the change station.
As the name suggests, the most prominent feature of the change station is that it is "fast circulation" - it only takes 1 minute to change a change block!
In other words, the EVOGO quick change station can theoretically allow users who travel for short distances to truly enjoy the convenience of refueling.
In addition, the EVOGO changeover station also has the characteristics of small footprint, large capacity and full climate. A single change station can store 48 power change blocks and can be adapted to the climatic and environmental conditions of different regions.
According to the official video of the CATL era, the quick change station is not a simple battery replacement place, but a hardware circulation center of the "electric-car-station" Internet of Things system. The EVOGO APP acts as a software link between people, cars and stations, and can rent electricity on demand, which can be increased or decreased.
In addition, the official promotional video also disclosed more technical characteristics of the change station. Including 24-hour battery butler, intelligent algorithm dynamic matching, multiple locks to ensure the integration of vehicle and electricity, 200+ data detection and so on.
3. Planning
FAW Besturn NAT combination power-changing version, is a member of the first EVOGO "Little Green Ring Family", code-named 001.
NAT is a customized model launched by FAW Besturn for the mobility service market, and Chen Weifeng said that in the future, there will be 002, 003 and other cooperative models to join EVOGO's "Little Green Ring" family.
In addition to the first co-operative model, EVOGO also plans to launch services in the first 10 cities, officially known as "Little Green Ring Cities".
The press conference did not clearly indicate which 10 cities, but the APP display in the official video appeared many times "Min D", and Xiamen will most likely be one of the first cities.
In addition, after the press conference, NINGDE Times told us that the battery property rights of EVOGO belong to the battery bank. As for the management of the battery bank, the official message is that "all parties are welcome to come together".
Second, the road to electricity exchange in the Ningde era
On December 24, 2021, CATL signed an agreement with the People's Government of Guizhou Province on cooperation in the construction of power exchange networks, which will cooperate in the construction of power exchange network facilities and the promotion of power exchange capacity.
At the end of 2021, it officially entered the power exchange track, followed by the official announcement of the power brand in the prelude to 2022, and the speed, determination and action of the Ningde era can be seen.
As early as May 17, 2021, at the annual performance briefing of CATL, Zeng Yuqun has already shown his affirmation of the circuit replacement line: "As the energy source of electric vehicles, we believe that power exchange and fast charging are better than hydrogen energy in terms of economy and maturity, and the company and car companies have discussed relevant cooperation."
At today's EVOGO press conference, Chen Weifeng also expressed the same proposition: "The power exchange solution provided by EVOGO, together with the existing home charge and fast charge, constitutes a full-scenario energy replenishment method, which brings the freedom of power replenishment."
In essence, for catheter, the world's largest power battery supplier, power exchange is not only a way to replenish energy, but also a key node for it to upgrade from a battery solution supplier to an "energy supplier".
Compared with charging, the power exchange network is a deeper energy replenishment scene where the three major technical plates of energy replenishment, battery and vehicle intersect.
The power exchange network not only needs to grasp external factors such as geographical location and capacity, but also needs to integrate the supply capacity from the battery cell to the whole package, and also considers the battery health, cloud services, and even includes fast charging capabilities.
This is also the reason why we believe that the supplier of power exchange solutions is the prototype of an energy company in the new era. Electricity replacement is a way of replenishing energy, but also the circulation mode of energy.
But the road to power exchange still faces challenges.
Compared to charging, the high efficiency of the power exchange is obvious. However, the volume of the power exchange network and the compatibility of specifications between different brands of models are the concerns of car companies to participate in the wave of power exchange, and so far only a few car companies have decided to build their own power exchange networks.
Originally the Ningde era of supplying batteries to all car companies, now trying to go further, the integration scheme of supplying batteries + power exchange networks to car companies is another solution to face the trend of power exchange.
Even, the replacement network as a supplier in the Ningde era may be easily accepted by more car companies and easier to break through the barriers between models.
The separation of vehicle and electricity means that the car company can enjoy the dividend of the vehicle price, whether it is the cost of sales or the cost of battery maintenance, it will become the dividend brought by the power exchange;
For the battery as a consumable, as well as the role of the large cost of the vehicle, the power exchange can avoid the disorderly capacity expansion pursued for the sake of endurance, and the battery is connected to the health system of the quick change station after the separation of the vehicle and electricity, which can improve the life and even change the battery depreciation formula under the original system.
From the perspective of the new energy replenishment equipment such as the express change station, the more intensive space utilization compared with the charging station (only 3 parking spaces are needed for the Ningde times express station) and the cross-model and cross-brand "one electric multi-vehicle" two-pronged approach, which greatly improves the utilization rate of social resources.
The above is to look at the EVOGO of the Ningde era from the perspective of the industry, so what about the user side?
The key is "both increase and decrease".
The most impressive point of the power exchange technology in the Ningde era is "flexibility". Splitting a huge battery pack into three not only allows the behavior of power exchange to extend more detailed solutions, but also has the opportunity for users to enjoy a rich and differentiated experience.
According to official sources, renting a single battery block is much cheaper than 3 pieces. This is the first experience upgrade brought about by the "flexible" strategy: pay-as-you-go. Users no longer have to pay extra for short- and medium-distance travel, and can control the budget accuracy to the level of 200km.
Another "flexible" related experience is "time."
First, the time to charge 48 26.5kWh batteries is the same as the total time for 16 79.5kWh.
But the key difference is that 48 small batteries can meet 48 short- and medium-distance trips, while 16 can meet 16 long-distance needs, but certainly not 48 short-distance needs – and long-distance travel of 150+ kilometers a day is often a very small number of needs.
The emergence of chocolate power exchange blocks means that most scenarios such as short- and medium-distance travel, daily commuting, etc., have truly enjoyed the efficiency dividend of power exchange, which is the deep meaning of "can be increased or decreased".
Conclusion: From behind the scenes to the front desk
"The world's largest power battery supplier" is the most easily quantifiable term for the NINGDE era, but the NINGDE era has always defined itself as a "new energy innovation and technology company" that provides "solutions and services".
The power battery is the cornerstone of the growth of the Ningde era, and it is also the nutrient of the service ability of the Ningde era, but it is not the whole picture of the blueprint of the Ningde era.
Open the homepage of the official website of CATL Times, the 3D GIFs played on a loop are marked with several points, showing several major energy storage areas that the NINGDE era has entered: passenger cars, commercial applications, construction machinery, intelligent charging stations for light storage, energy storage systems, electric ports, two-wheeled vehicles...
If we look at the full link from the car end to the energy storage end, the footprint of the Ningde era has been surrounded by a commercial system network of "wind/light-storage/charging/replacing-inspection" and then to power battery recycling.
Power exchange is a key link through production and recycling. The battery circulates not only between the vehicle and the change station, but also between the change station and the Ningde era.
Back in the automotive industry, which is setting off a wave of electrification, the traditional supplier-car company-consumer "chain" relationship is being broken; companies with ecological capabilities will face users, such as battery service operators.
In the process of evolution, there will be enterprises withdrawing, and there will be new enterprises leading the change. New ways of using energy will inevitably give birth to new energy "C-bits".
CATL today took a far-reaching step, with EVOGO as the node, officially upgraded from a single battery supplier to a composite energy service provider.
What kind of ripples will this step from behind the scenes to the front of the stage cause? We'll see.
(End)
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