CATL, the world’s largest manufacturer of batteries for electric vehicles, is considering expanding its battery swapping technology to Europe.
In an interview with the “Financial Times”, the director of the Chinese company, Jiang Li, stated that the network of electric vehicle battery swapping stations has an “enormous potential” in Europe to make batteries cheaper and more durable. According to the same official, CATL has already discussed the use of this technology with European companies in the automotive sector.
It is worth noting that in China, the battery swapping network is expected to grow to 1,000 stations for passenger cars by the end of 2025, in addition to another 300 for electric heavy vehicles.
CATL anticipates that in collaboration with partners, it will build 10,000 battery swapping stations in China over the next three years.
This technology, already widely used in China, has yet to gain traction in Europe due to the high investment in infrastructure, with the exception of the car manufacturer Nio, which already operates 60 battery stations in Europe.
However, CATL may now bring a new impetus, benefiting from the European Union’s regulations, which are pressuring Chinese companies to cooperate with European firms. “We are open to cooperation, especially in research and development”, said Jiang Li.
