B2G technology may enable battery swapping to become the largest scale distributed energy storage solution globally. By transforming electric vehicles from mere transportation means into dynamic regulation units within the energy network, this technology enhances the energy supply system for new energy vehicles and functions as a buffer for the power system. In early April, traditional energy giant Sinopec officially announced its entry into the battery swapping ecosystem alongside Ningde Times, aiming to establish a nationwide battery swapping network. The two companies plan to construct over 500 battery swapping stations this year, with a long-term goal of building 10,000 stations. Previously, in March, Ningde Times partnered with NIO to announce the creation of the world’s largest battery swapping network and to promote standardization in battery swapping.
The collaboration between Sinopec and Ningde Times marks a significant milestone, transitioning battery swapping from a “vehicle manufacturer-level energy supply solution” to a “societal-level mainstream energy infrastructure.” More importantly, Ningde Times’ “Chocolate Battery Swapping” ecosystem, combined with B2G (Battery to Grid) technology, is reimagining electric vehicles as flexible energy adjustment resources, playing a crucial role in balancing the new power system. With fuel stations across the country evolving into comprehensive energy stations, the establishment of the world’s largest distributed energy storage network is expected to accelerate further.
However, the load side currently lacks scalable adjustment capabilities. The increased integration of high proportions of new energy and power electronic devices has significantly weakened the power system’s disturbance resistance and adjustment capability. This has resulted in insufficient peak capacity during high electricity demand periods and energy wastage during low demand periods, exemplifying the growing gap in flexible adjustment resources. The power system is shifting from a traditional “source following load” approach to a more interactive “source-grid-load-storage” model.
Currently, the load side has not formed a scalable adjustment capability, as most centralized storage adjustment resources do not align with load distribution. Hence, distributed energy storage on the user side is vital for alleviating load-side pressures. Presently, user-side distributed energy storage primarily consists of commercial and industrial storage, which remains relatively small in scale and may not provide the most effective flexibility adjustment resource. Based on the aggregation of adjustment resources from virtual power plants in Shanghai and Shenzhen, the largest resource is not commercial storage but rather charging and swapping resources, which offer stronger scalable adjustment capabilities and lower adjustment costs. Furthermore, in terms of safety, the power batteries in electric vehicles have advanced farther than commercial energy storage solutions.
Essentially, the vast number of power batteries in electric vehicles operate as individual distributed energy storage batteries. When linked together, they form a substantial distributed energy storage system that can realize significant scale effects. The initial vehicle-to-grid (V2G) interactions have been widely implemented at charging and swapping stations, where charging loads are adjusted in an orderly manner based on grid demands. However, to fully unleash the scalable adjustment capacity of electric vehicles, V2G technology is crucial to enable discharging back to the grid.
The fundamental reason for the current limited adoption of V2G is the incomplete commercialization of its business model, which faces challenges such as infrastructure development, owner willingness, and market mechanisms. Nevertheless, the establishment of B2G technology and battery swapping networks achieves a mutually beneficial business model, accelerating the construction of the world’s largest distributed energy storage system.
By expanding its battery swapping initiatives, Ningde Times is not only enhancing its advantages across the entire battery industry chain but also making significant strides toward becoming a green energy supplier. The standardization of battery swapping and the construction of a swapping ecosystem effectively transform batteries into a “public energy pool” for the entire industry. Battery swapping stations serve as both energy consumption and storage nodes, converting substantial charging loads from being a burden on the power grid to becoming a support element.
The Chocolate Battery Swapping ecosystem has broken down barriers preventing automakers from building their own swapping systems and is promoting standardization in battery swapping, including chassis swap models, battery size specifications, and uniform interface protocols. At the Chocolate Battery Swapping ecosystem conference, Ningde Times announced partnerships with leading automakers including Changan, FAW Hongqi, SAIC-GM-Wuling, GAC, and BAIC to launch new battery swapping models. These collaborations signify a convergence of multiple companies on the planning of new energy infrastructure, resembling a definitive conclusion for the battery swapping sector.
Ningde Times plans to construct 1,000 battery swapping stations by 2025, with a long-term goal of 30,000 to 40,000 stations. With an average reserve of 14-30 batteries per station, the total energy storage capacity of 30,000 stations could reach 33.6 GWh, providing up to 1,120 GWh of flexible scheduling resources for the grid from 20 million electric vehicles serviced by the swapping network.
The current installed capacity of new energy storage remains relatively small within the overall power system. The total storage capacity of 30,000 swapping stations and 20 million vehicles is nearly seven times the scale of new energy storage built and operational across the country by the end of 2024 (168 GWh). The vast array of battery swapping stations and their interconnected battery resources may become a core component of user-side energy storage, playing a significant role in balancing the new power system.
With the increasing penetration of electric vehicles, user charging demands continue to grow, creating immense pressure on the grid due to large-scale charging loads. According to Ningde Times’ chairman, “Unregulated large-scale charging will exacerbate the peak-load characteristics of the power grid and threaten its safety. Additionally, as the proportion of volatile and intermittent renewable energy generation increases, the grid faces significant gaps in flexible adjustment capabilities to maintain real-time balance.”
The rapid adoption of high-voltage fast-charging technology further intensifies these concerns. At the 2024 Two Sessions, the chairman suggested exploring B2G technology to transform burdens into resources, addressing both traffic and energy challenges through vehicle-grid interaction.
In recent years, government support for V2G has been strong, yet its broad adoption remains challenging. In addition to revenue concerns, many new energy vehicle owners worry that frequent charging and discharging may shorten their batteries’ lifespan. However, with appropriate charging and discharging management strategies, increased charging cycles do not necessarily lead to battery degradation and can even help prolong battery life. Particularly for electric vehicles that remain idle for extended periods, regularly participating in V2G can further extend battery longevity.
According to statistics from the State Grid, most private vehicles average about 50 charging sessions annually. Assuming a vehicle’s lifespan of ten years, the total number of charging sessions used by the owner is approximately 500. Even if we consider the minimum standard of 1,000 cycles for power batteries, there remains a surplus of 500 cycles available for use. Nevertheless, fostering user awareness and habits around V2G participation is not an easy task.
The essence of V2G is B2G. Under the battery swapping model, users do not need to worry about battery depreciation, and batteries can receive more professional and orderly management. B2G technology is key to converting massive numbers of electric vehicles into flexible adjustment resources for the grid, and it is central to Ningde Times’ distributed energy storage strategy. Currently, Ningde Times’ Xiyao hybrid battery and Chocolate Battery Swapping Block both support B2G mode, potentially driving more battery manufacturers, charging pile companies, and automakers to form a vehicle-grid interaction ecosystem.
In conclusion, the widespread adoption of B2G technology could enable electric vehicles to collectively provide flexible grid peak-shaving capabilities. For instance, 100,000 B2G-enabled electric vehicles could deliver 1 GW of flexible power, equivalent to the output level of a medium-sized gas power plant. During peak electricity consumption periods, clusters of electric vehicles discharging can alleviate regional grid pressure and reduce the risks of power restrictions.
Ningde Times aims to reshape itself as a green energy supplier, building large independent energy systems capable of powering large data centers or even entire cities. The company envisions that the development and management of “zero-carbon grids” could yield a business ten times larger than supplying electric vehicle batteries. The battery swapping stations will strive to utilize green energy, becoming key players in stabilizing the grid and facilitating the absorption of renewable energy.
By integrating rooftop solar for green power generation, providing green energy storage for batteries, and charging vehicles with renewable energy, the Chocolate Battery Swapping ecosystem can create a highly efficient “integrated energy network” that allows swapping stations to act as buffer zones for regional grids. This network will also help address the challenges of absorbing distributed solar power across regions.
Additionally, Ningde Times and NIO plan to develop a complete lifecycle loop encompassing “battery research and development, swapping services, battery asset management, secondary utilization, and material recycling.” From a higher perspective, the centralized recycling of retired power batteries might be the final piece in Ningde Times’ zero-carbon system. The primary challenge in battery recycling is the high channel costs due to dispersed ownership, but battery swapping stations can facilitate concentrated collection of retired batteries. As battery technology rapidly evolves and the peak of retirements approaches, battery recycling is set to become a significant growth area. With Ningde Times already leading the global lithium battery industry in terms of a closed-loop economy, the integration of battery swapping networks will create a win-win scenario for scale and efficiency.
Ningde Times’ commitment to battery swapping not only establishes a zero-carbon closed loop but also creates a mutually beneficial business model: users earn from charging and discharging price differences, battery swapping stations gain from grid interactions, the grid reduces investment in upgrades, and companies cut costs on battery recycling. This synergy will further propel the expansion of the battery swapping ecosystem.
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