The rapid battery exchange for electric vehicles is, by default, directly associated with Nio, a Chinese brand that is a pioneer in the development of the system. But there is another company in the country, CATL, at the forefront of the dissemination of this technology, which has the particularity of being “only” the largest battery manufacturer in the world.
Recently, the company reached the milestone of 700 stations for rapid battery exchanges in 100% electric vehicles, with the network already available in 39 cities in China. The next goal is to reach 1000 by the end of the year, but achieving this goal depends on an increase in the speed of implementing this type of infrastructure, an ambitious undertaking that the brand has already begun.
It should be noted that the rapid battery exchange technology, which records one record after another in service usage, is a distinguishing element of Nio, but CATL does not intend to fall behind in the race, and has even announced a new goal, even more ambitious than the original: by the end of 2026, more than 2500 operational stations in about 120 cities in China!
For the successful execution of this rapid network expansion plan, CATL relies on a subsidiary, CAES (Contemporary Amperex Energy Service Technology), and partner companies. In the long term, the network growth strategy aims for a total of 30,000 active installations, including in Europe.
