The lack of a common standard for power exchange is the first blow to its popularity
Born at an inopportune time to set a precedent
When it comes to the beginnings of power exchange technology, it is necessary to mention one Israeli electric vehicle manufacturer, Better Place.
The spirited man in the picture is named Xia Jiaxi, who after leaving SAP in 2007 proposed the power exchange technology of pure electric vehicles, and then founded a battery exchange company called Better Place in Israel. The company and Renault proposed to adopt a "vehicle-to-electricity separation + mileage billing" power exchange solution, that is, users buy a replacement model from Renault, but the battery is held by Better Place, providing battery rental, charging and battery replacement services to users, and charging customers a monthly fee based on the number of driving miles.
In the second half of 2007, Better Place received a Series A funding of $111 million, followed by several rounds of financing, and the valuation reached an unprecedented $2.25 billion.
However, despite the high amount of financing, it can not withstand the helplessness of high cost and low sales, in 2013, Xia Jiaxi and his Better Place dream fell, and the power exchange model that could not see hope was ruthlessly abandoned by capital.
The fall of Better Place now seems more like it is not in time, after all, the overall environment of the new energy automobile industry in that year is not comparable to today. But Better Place has left posterity with a complete chassis swap technology and the value generated by the experience in the operation process is immeasurable.
Tough exploration and continuous innovation
As early as when Better Place did not enter the domestic market, there were domestic companies in the research of power exchange technology, such as China's first person to change electricity: Zhang Jianping, the company he founded, Dianba New Energy, which won the substation demonstration project of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, the 2010 Shanghai World Expo and the Guangzhou Asian Games.
Another enterprise worth mentioning is the State Grid, the State Grid in 2011 to determine the "main power exchange, plug-in and charging as a supplement, centralized charging, unified distribution" development strategy, carried out a series of pilot projects, such as in Beijing's Gao'antun power station, to the sanitation vehicles to change electricity; Qingdao Xuejiadao power station, to the bus power; in Hangzhou is to build a large-scale power exchange network, to replace the taxi.
In 2012, the State Council issued the "Energy-saving and New Energy Vehicle Industry Development Plan (2012-2020)", which established the development direction of electric vehicles based on charging.
In 2013, enterprises exploring the power exchange model have closed down or stopped investing, and the leading big brother State Grid has also no longer implemented power exchange due to strategic adjustment, and the power exchange industry has entered a period of silence for up to 5-6 years, slowly retreating to the corner no longer attracting attention, and charging is singing all the way.
In the period of 2014-2019, although the power exchange has entered a period of silence, the fire has still been retained, and some people are insisting. In 2016, Zhang Jianping introduced investment, dianba became a subsidiary of Aodong New Energy, during which Aodong and BAIC BJEV carried out the landing operation of power-changing taxis in Beijing, Xiamen, Guangzhou and other places, and in 2020, the fourth generation of replacement power stations was released, and the replacement time was only 20s.
During this period, there is also a big contributor to the popularization of power exchange, that is, Weilai Automobile, which was established in 2014, which pushed the power exchange model to the field of private consumption. It should be known that in the past, power exchanges were for public transportation, taxi, online booking, logistics and other operating vehicles, because these are relatively easy to have a scale effect, and the excessive dispersion of private consumers will lead to a huge increase in costs.
Weilai chose the highest cost of self-built power exchange system, its own car, its own station, its own power exchange service, although this choice makes Weilai bear huge cost pressure, of course, this also makes the current Weilai car owners also enjoy exclusive power exchange services, and power exchange has also become one of the exclusive moats of Weilai.
A comeback can be expected in the future
The comeback of electricity swaps is indispensable to the promotion of national policies
Among them, in January 2022, ten ministries and commissions of the state jointly issued the "Implementation Opinions on Further Improving the Service Guarantee Capacity of Charging and Replacing Infrastructure", which pointed out that it is necessary to strengthen the promotion and application of the power exchange model.
Driven by the policy, the market has also become more hot, and large enterprises such as SAIC, Dongfeng, Changan, GAC, Geely, GCL, Sinopec, and Guodian Investment have suddenly entered, including the battery giant "Ningde Era".
The company's goals are also more aggressive, such as Weilai Automobile announcing that it will have more than 4,000 power station replacement stations in 2025, Sinopec's target of 5,000 charging and replacing power stations in 2025, GCL's 6,000 in 2025, and 10,000 in 2025.
What is the level of development of power exchange technology that has become a fragrant food for major enterprises?
At present, the power exchange method is mainly divided into four types: chassis power exchange, sub-box power exchange, side power exchange, hoisting type power exchange.
As can be seen from the figure, chassis power exchange is the mainstream of the current power exchange mode.
Returning to the above mentioned Aodong New Energy, at present, Aodong New Energy has more than 1,000 patents for power exchange technology, and the cumulative number of power exchanges has exceeded 7 million times. The domestic car companies that do passenger car replacement solutions are mainly BAIC BJEV and Weilai, and their substations are developed in cooperation with Aodong New Energy.
At the 2020 Guangzhou Auto Show, Aodong New Energy released the latest generation of 4.0 power station replacement, which only takes 20 seconds to complete the power exchange.
The process of changing the power supply is as follows: the vehicle enters the substation, the limit mechanism in the station helps the vehicle move to the correct position and fix it, and then the vehicle is lifted up and the battery pack is removed. The conveyor belt transports the old battery pack away and the new battery pack comes in. After the new battery pack is installed, the vehicle is lowered and can be driven out normally to complete the power exchange.
Why can the new technology of Aodong New Energy realize the technical power exchange in 20 seconds? There is nothing special about the lifts and conveyor belts in the replacement power station, and the key is that Aodong New Energy has improved the connection between the battery pack and the vehicle.
Batteries are often bolted, and removal and installation are time-consuming. To complete the power exchange within 20 seconds, Aodong New Energy can only give up the bolt and find another way. The black bump appears to be the snap that holds the battery pack in place, while the cylindrical bump around the battery pack can act as a position and connection.
Compared with the mode of Aodong New Energy simply and rudely lifting the vehicle for power exchange, the second generation of Weilai power station replaces the first generation of Weilai power station by opening the cover to change the power from the bottom of the car, and the owner can change the power without getting off the car.
What are the advantages of the power swap mode? Why have policies been encouraging the development of power exchange technology in recent years?
First, the battery as an important part of new energy vehicles, accounting for a large part of the cost of new energy vehicles, and the use of power exchange mode to separate vehicles and electricity, can reduce the cost of consumer car purchase, attract consumers to buy new energy vehicles, and promote the realization of carbon neutrality goals.
Second, the use of power exchange technology, centralized management by the battery operation company, can improve the safety of the battery. The battery is actually a very fragile component, in the process of use also need to be timely maintenance, detection, otherwise in the charging process and an hour after charging there is a greater risk, once the thermal control management is not good, there may be deflagration.
Third, the exploration of the power exchange mode is more in-depth and landing. Previously, the power exchange was only used in the to B field of bus, taxi, online appointment, logistics and other to operate vehicle applications, the above-mentioned Weilai Automobile brought the power exchange to the private consumption field, and it also established a BAAS model for battery asset operation, which made a road that no one had ever walked out of before.
Is the power swap mode successful? This is not only the technical problems that any "Weilai" car company and the "Ningde era" battery company need to solve, but also the top-level design, industrial ecology, market recognition and other management issues at the national level.
At present, the biggest problem encountered in the popularization of the power exchange mode is the lack of common standards for power exchange, which is exactly the problem that the government needs to work together to solve.
The development of the power exchange model to the present, indispensable to the efforts of Aodong New Energy and Weilai Automobile, but with the continuous improvement of the top-level design of the power exchange model by the country, and the drive of the "double carbon" goal, more and more enterprises will pour into the research field of power exchange.
The spring of the power exchange mode has arrived, and the future can be expected!
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