When launched, Ola Swappable battery tech will rival Hero Vida’s twin swappable battery and Simple Energy’s single swappable battery technologies
Indian 2W market has witnessed respectable growth in electric mobility transition in the recent past. Leading this transition is Ola Electric with its S1 range of electric scooters. However, Ola Electric has huge ambitions and the company is foraying into multiple niches within electric mobility. Company’s recent patents reveal swappable battery technology as well.
Ola Swappable Battery Patented
Indian electric two-wheeler market is vastly gravitated towards electric scooters than any other body styles. Electric motorcycles are rather few and don’t clock as many sales as electric scooters. So, if a manufacturer is developing a new EV technology, it is highly likely to go on the vehicles that bring in the most volumes.
Bringing Ola Electric into the picture, the electric mobility solutions provider has recently patented swappable battery tech. Currently, Ola only sells S1 range of electric scooters and is on the verge of developing electric motorcycles, electric 3W rickshaws and 3W cargo vehicles.
The company is highly likely to offer swappable battery tech with their scooters as they are well-established (India’s best-selling electric 2W range) and have the most potential to make it mainstream. That said, their upcoming electric motorcycles and electric 3W CVs might come equipped with swappable batteries too.
Ola’s patented design has a nice handle to carry the battery with OLA branding. As of now, the battery capacity or battery chemistry of Ola’s new swappable battery pack is unknown. Also unknown is whether Ola is using their indigenous battery cells in this pack. More details might surface in the future.
Application with CVs
Ola is foraying into electric 3W segment and the company’s recent design patents confirm these speculations. There is an electric rickshaw for last-mile mobility and an electric 3W cargo vehicle for last-mile delivery. Both applications require minimal downtime. With swappable batteries, business owners can ensure maximum uptime.
Also, batteries can be offered as a service where buyers don’t have to shell out a hefty up-front cost. With swappable battery tech, an electric vehicle can go from minimum to maximum SOC in a matter of minutes, bypassing charging time. Ola has also patented an electric scooter for commercial purposes and this swappable battery makes a lot of sense for it.
Application with PVs
Currently, Hero Vida is the only mainstream brand that is fully invested in swappable battery tech. Honda’s upcoming electric scooter is also likely to go fully swappable battery direction as well. Simple Energy offers one fixed battery and one swappable battery.
Swappable batteries have their perks in PV segment. With a swappable or removable battery, charging for an apartment dweller gets a lot more convenient. Considering most EV owners charge their vehicles overnight, swappable batteries make EV ownership a lot easier.
Also read – Ola’s commercial scooter design patented
