Could battery replacement be a better solution for electric scooters in India? That is the question after a string of fires that have been reported in electric scooters across brands. While the exact cause of the fires is unknown, most companies blame poor shipping practices by consumers. This is precisely the reason why some electric car manufacturers in India prefer battery replacement instead of home charging.
In simple terms, charging an electric vehicle works just as it would any other electronic device such as a laptop or mobile phone. This can be done at an EV charging station as well. But in the event of a battery swap, where the user’s vehicle battery is completely discharged or about to be discharged, the manufacturers or third party provider will replace it with a fully charged battery at the battery exchange station.
The companies claim that users usually spend about the same amount of time waiting for their batteries to be replaced as they will have to refuel the car. However, the challenge is the limited locations where this facility will be available.
“With a battery swap, a key component of an electric vehicle, charging is under the full control of the swap company. The customer never has to charge the battery.” Aaron Serias, co-founder and CEO of RACEnergy, the battery swap company, said in an email that The service provider is the one who ships the battery packs.
RACEnergy is currently piloting its service in Hyderabad and Tirupati. According to Sirius, the company also cools its batteries before and after charging.
A set of interchangeable battery packs. (Image credit: RACEnergy)
“The second advantage of a swap is that there is always an extra set of batteries that allows the exchange to take place. This extra set of batteries gives us plenty of time to charge the batteries, so we are not in a hurry to charge fast. In fact, with our variable charging rates we can slow down the charging as much as possible. This ensures that we are using every available minute to reduce the charging rate.”
Another EV fleet player that relies on battery swapping is Bounce. The company is also a battery-as-a-service (BaaS) provider. Company CEO Vivekananda Hallekere tweeted in response to the EV fire reports that Bounce has so far been serving more than 3,000 swaps per day, roughly 180,000 kilometers. The company claims to have made more than 1 million swaps in the past two years for 20,000 customers.
Bounce Infinity Scooter at the battery replacement station. (Image credit: bounce)
Hallekere told Indianexpress.com that there are many aspects that can affect the health of a scooter’s battery and lead to a fire. “There are many things that can go wrong with electric scooters: the quality of the cells, the packing of the cells, the electrical wiring, the battery management system, the charging technology,” said Halikiri.
Taking care of the battery can’t be a customer’s job, Hallikeri said, adding that there are other reasons why replacing the battery is a good thing. “Quick charging results in cells heating up. Batteries are charged at 0.5°C. Cells are not damaged. One of the biggest benefits is the lack of a quick trade-off,” he noted.
On what could cause fires in electric vehicles, Halikeri added that the way the battery is charged is also important. “It has to be done well with science and logic. If the space between cells is not planned or if it is not balanced, it can cause problems like fires.
There are also concerns that fast charging could be a problem for electric vehicles, since this can cause the battery to overheat too much. According to Bounce, this is where the role of smart chargers is important. This can increase, decrease or stop the charging rate based on the data and ensure that the batteries do not overheat.
“Charge-based vehicles must be designed in such a way that the customer does not have to worry. For example, a battery management system (BMS) must be able to communicate with smart chargers so that charging can be interrupted if battery temperatures reach dangerous levels or if battery health is affected ‘ explained Halkeri.
Bounce claims that it does not rely on any fast charging for this exact reason since it can affect “battery health by making the battery behave erratically and this may negatively affect thermal management.”
There is no doubt that as electric vehicles gain popularity in India, safety questions will remain. In terms of battery replacement, it may be a good solution to avoid electric vehicle fires, but it can also be inconvenient for ordinary consumers, especially those who have purchased an electric vehicle for personal use.
However, companies like Bounce are confident that these solutions will see adoption from EV users. There is also no doubt that the fuel-like convenience of BaaS solutions makes them more suitable for other modes of public transportation such as E-rickshaws in Delhi, many of which are already taking advantage of battery swap technology.
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