There is such a joke on the social network of Hangzhou Daily: I really hope that future mobile phones can be designed with removable batteries, so that they can be replaced anytime and anywhere without being "contained" by sockets or carrying power banks. .
Behind the topic is an unavoidable disease of the times: "battery life" anxiety. Compared with mobile phones, the problem of two-wheeled electric vehicles running on the streets is more severe.
Where there is a problem, there is a business. After ***Xiang's power bank, ***Xiang's bicycles, etc., ***Xiang's wind has spread to the field of new energy - when the electric vehicle is about to run out of power, there is no need to wait for charging, but to replace it in the smart power swap cabinet. A fully charged battery... In the field of two-wheeled electric vehicles, there is a craze for enjoying battery replacement.
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A business that solves battery life anxiety
Among the many users of two-wheeled electric vehicles, the one who has the most battery life anxiety is the delivery boy. .
Master Ding is not an exception. Although the cruising range is related to the capacity and newness of the battery, for most delivery workers, it is still difficult for the electric vehicle's power to last for a whole day. When asked how to solve the problem of power shortage, one of the masters mentioned battery replacement, "I run a lot, nearly 100 kilometers a day. You can also charge it, or you can replace it." He said that the price of battery replacement is not high. It's expensive, almost a dollar.
In fact, there are already many power-changing cabinets on the streets of Hangzhou. The green cabinet is divided into several small compartments and looks like a smart express cabinet... Since January this year, Tedian (Hangzhou) Technology Co., Ltd. has launched and operated 50 two-wheeled electric vehicle battery replacement cabinets in Xiasha Pian District, Qiantang District, mainly storing Near universities, entrepreneurial parks and supermarkets.
Tedian Technology was established in 2019. It mainly provides users with safe and intelligent charging and swapping services based on big data analysis. "In 2019, electric vehicles began to implement the new national standards. We have seen the demand for battery swaps in the market, especially in industries such as takeout and luxury electric vehicles." Sun Wenda, director of operations for electric special delivery, said that battery swapping cabinets are very popular among takeaways. Welcomed by members, the cumulative number of users in the area currently reaches 260, mostly takeaway riders. "Our goal is to launch 200 power swap cabinets within the year to serve more riders."
It is reported that there are currently more than 7 million takeaway riders and more than 4 million couriers in the country, and their average daily driving The mileage exceeds 100 kilometers, while the daily mileage of ordinary electric vehicles is 50-60 kilometers. The demand for high mileage and low charging time in the field of instant delivery has catalyzed the development of the battery swap industry.
Different from other integrated charging and swapping cabinets, the special electric delivery adopts a separate charging and swapping mode. In other words, the company charges the batteries centrally at a dedicated base and then distributes them to various battery swap cabinets.
"Our base can charge 192 batteries at the same time, and it takes 2 hours to charge each battery. At full load, more than 2,300 batteries can be charged in 24 hours a day." Sun Wenda said, in this way High-efficiency charging and precise distribution supported by big data can ensure that riders can get fully charged batteries during the peak period of battery replacement.
In terms of cost, battery replacement services can be billed on a pay-per-use basis, and there are also monthly and quarterly packages. With a monthly package starting at 268 yuan, you can enjoy unlimited power swaps, and under the pay-per-use model, the average cost of each power swap is less than 3 yuan.
According to Sun Wenda, Electric Delivery has reached a cooperation with Daily Youxian to jointly build a "battery swap fleet". At the same time, the company will also expand more scenario cooperation in the instant delivery industry.
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Many companies entered the track
Suddenly, as if a spring breeze came overnight, thousands of pear trees bloomed. More and more companies are entering the battery replacement service industry. According to statistics, since 2016, more than 20 companies have entered this field.
Haro Travel, which officially launched battery swapping services in 2019, announced in November last year that the brand of its battery swapping business would be upgraded to "Xiaoha Battery Swapping".
As of the end of April this year, Xiaoha’s battery swap has been implemented in more than 200 cities across the country.
In addition to Hello Travel, the power swap market also includes Tower Energy, which develops cross-border energy business, as well as e-power swap, smart rental power swap, Hello power swap, etc. In May this year, Yadea and Dachangjiang Group jointly established Aihuanhuan Energy Company in Hangzhou, kicking off the C-end consumer power swapping campaign with an intelligent power swapping model.
Different from traditional battery swap operators, Swap Swap integrates intelligent battery research and development and energy storage systems, smart battery swap stations, and charge and discharge safety monitoring SaaS platforms, integrating new generation technologies such as big data, the Internet, and artificial intelligence. Digital technology runs through battery swap station terminals and user terminals, forming a multi-functional collaborative IoT ecosystem.
At the "Digital Hangzhou Livable Paradise - 2021 Brand Hangzhou·Life Quality General Comments" exchange conference held at the end of July, the exchange, which was only 2 months old, attracted many customers with its intelligent power exchange mode. attracted a lot of attention.
"Each battery replaced is equipped with 25 smart sensors that can be synchronized with the vehicle. Through the safety monitoring platform, users can monitor the charge and discharge status of the battery in real time, making travel safer." Change CEO Wang Zhihua said that based on the vehicle-electricity separation model, users no longer need to take the vehicle home to charge, and there is no need to worry about charging difficulties or battery safety issues. After purchasing a naked car, users only need basic monthly service. For a fee, you can get a smart battery at a self-service battery swap station that operates 24 hours a day.
Different from companies in the field of instant delivery such as positioning services for takeaway express riders, Swap focuses on the quality of urban travel and hopes to redefine the practicality of two-wheeled electric vehicles through convenient, safe, and high-energy smart battery swap services. ism.
"The replacement will create more possibilities for future urban travel with faster energy replenishment, longer urban endurance, and higher safety standards, and provide safer and more reliable travel for the general public. Service." Wang Zhihua said that based on this concept, Wanwan has high quality standards for the design and specifications of electric vehicles. Therefore, Wanwaan does not currently support the modification of batteries for existing electric vehicles. Instead, it needs to intervene in system management from the time the vehicle leaves the factory. However, during the elimination period of the new national standard, Wanwaan will cooperate with car companies to launch a trade-in service.
Currently, Huanhuan has teamed up with Dachangjiang Group and Yadi Technology Group to develop a variety of smart electric car swaps, which are expected to be officially launched in mid-October. At the same time, the company is intensively building a network of battery swap stations in Hangzhou, and the first batch of 80 battery swap stations is planned to be completed within this year.
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The battery swapping industry is ushering in a "big era"
How big is the market for two-wheeled electric vehicles? As the first choice for short-distance travel, two-wheeled electric vehicles have become “national travel tools.” Data show that there are nearly 400 million two-wheeled electric vehicles in China, and annual sales exceeded 30 million last year.
The proposal of carbon neutrality and carbon peak goals has pushed two-wheeled electric vehicles to once again become a strong focus of green and low-carbon travel. In particular, exclusive electric vehicles and the new economy of instant delivery continue to drive the growth in demand for two-wheeled electric vehicles. According to predictions by relevant agencies, the compound growth rate of lithium battery two-wheel electric vehicle production will exceed 30% in the next three years.
The explosive growth of the two-wheeled electric vehicle industry has spurred the development of downstream industries such as battery replacement services.
In fact, since the implementation of the new national standard for electric vehicles in April 2019, the two-wheeled electric vehicle industry has entered a conversion period in which lead-acid batteries are replaced by lithium batteries. How to convert? "Exchange for recharging" may become a new model that will be vigorously promoted.
This vehicle-electricity separation model not only enables centralized, efficient and professional battery charging and discharging management, but also solves urban safety management problems caused by charging two-wheeled electric vehicles, such as indiscriminate pulling of flying wires and charging into the house. .
Therefore, battery swap stations are also regarded as a new type of livelihood infrastructure. Relevant organizations predict that the battery swap market for two-wheeled electric vehicles is expected to exceed 100 billion yuan.
"Compared with four-wheeled new energy vehicle battery swapping facilities, the two-wheeled battery-charging field has a better scale development effect due to the huge size of electric bicycles." Smart Travel Department of China Electric Vehicles Association of 100 Director Zhang Haitao said in an interview.
However, the battery swapping industry for two-wheeled electric vehicles is still in its infancy, and there is still a lack of unified standards in the industry. For example, the electric vehicles produced by many manufacturers cannot fully meet the needs of battery swapping, and the battery swapping stations provided by different service providers do not have exactly the same requirements for the plug-in interface.
"The development of the battery swapping industry requires the coordination and cooperation of all parties in the industry chain such as electric vehicle companies and battery swapping station service companies." Relevant industry insiders said.
Many people in the industry have seen this and taken active actions. In March this year, the two domestic power generation ecological alliances were officially established. More than 20 industries and industry-related units, including Xiaoha Battery Exchange, CATL, Yadea, Emma, ??Luyuan, and Hello Travel, have unanimously "voiced" and will work together to build a basic energy network for urban dual-power rotation that "replaces replacement with charging."
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It is still difficult to make money in the 100-billion-level market
Under the spotlight, ***Xiang’s power swap is favored by many capitals. Not long ago, Xiaoha Power Exchange announced the completion of a new round of financing. The funds will be used to continue investing in technology research and development and product upgrade iterations to further consolidate basic energy network construction capabilities and accelerate urban market expansion. It is reported that investors in this round of investment include Greater Bay Area Fund, Iwagu Capital, Boru Capital, Muhua Capital, etc.
"Returning to the essence of business, we are now paying more attention to whether the project's technology and service itself have solved some practical problems." Chen Hao, investment manager of Huarui Capital, believes that new energy is a very hot track. And its core sector is batteries. As a market segment in the new energy field, two-wheeled electric vehicles also face issues such as battery charging and discharging technology iteration and safety management.
In his view, there are indeed clear scenario requirements for battery swapping for two-wheeled electric vehicles, but projects should pay more attention to technical content, service cost-effectiveness, etc., in order to achieve sustainable development. “For those who simply play the game mode, once a more powerful player enters the game, you may be replaced,” he said.
In fact, if you want to get a share of the cake in a market worth hundreds of billions, the entry threshold is not low. The technology research and development costs, equipment costs, site rental costs, operation and maintenance costs, etc. of power swap cabinets are all issues facing enterprises. More importantly, the user's experience of the power swap service is directly linked to the density of energy outlets in the power swap cabinet. And wanting to get more users means spending more capital to improve the basic energy network.
"At present, self-charging is still the mainstream of the two-wheeled electric vehicle market." Industry insiders pointed out, "It is too early to say that two-wheeled electric vehicles have entered the 'battery swap era'. Battery swapping and There is no substitution relationship between charging and charging. ”
Data from research institutions show that the current penetration rate of battery swapping in the takeout field is only about 25, and the penetration rate of battery swapping for C-end users is only about 4. It can be said that battery swap service companies still have a long way to go in cultivating users’ battery swap habits.