Exploring battery swap from an international perspective

Master Thesis: Exploring Battery swap from an international perspective
The Volvo Group has committed to Science Based Targets and is reaching for rolling fleet net-zero value chain emissions by 2050. The need for adapting the firms to new technologies as well as business are driven by the needs for sustainable development, and enabled by technological advancements such as electromobility, autonomous vehicles and connectivity. Nevertheless, to achieve these goals the heavy-duty machine sector is strongly dependent on other developments in society, such as energy infrastructure and where also potentials lie in using the vehicles as a source of energy during idle hours.
However, different countries and regions have different prerequisites to make this a feasible situation, where not only technology plays a role but also policy and regulatory questions need to be raised. Therefore, in this thesis you are having a unique opportunity to collaborate in an international setting. The master thesis will be conducted by one person, but you will be included in a team of people investigating the techno-commercial situation for implementations in Sweden and in China.


Background:


Battery swap services are emerging solutions for battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) in China and in the world. Compared to traditional charging solutions, battery swapping has significant advantages in speed and convenience. The full process of replacing depleted battery with a full-charged power pack can be completed in 3-10 minutes.
Presently, there are many challenges to practically implementing battery swapping in construction equipment industry, which mainly includes the excessive cost of infrastructure to set up battery swapping system and high complexity of the robotic machinery to swap the battery. Nevertheless, various business models are being developed in the market to overcome these obstacles. In addition, increasing number of government regulations will be introduced to promote battery swap.


The scope of this thesis is to perform techno-commercial feasibility study of battery swap solution in Swedish construction equipment industry. You will be focusing on policy, business and economic aspects of this thesis.




The proposed main thesis work activities are:
Literature study of current battery swap solutions of electric construction equipment in China market, with focus on excavators and wheel loaders
Literature study of current policies and legislation regarding battery swap in passenger vehicles and commercial heavy-duty vehicles (i.e., bus, truck, and construction equipment) segments
Comparative total cost of ownership (TCO) analysis between traditional charging solutions and battery swapping services
Analysis of battery life requirement for pure electric excavators and wheel loaders of different tonnages (I.e., compact, medium, and large)
Analysis of battery swap application scenarios for pure electric excavators and wheel loaders

The thesis could include, but not be limited to the above activities.


Thesis Level: Master thesis
Language: English or Swedish
Starting date: 2022-01-15
Number of students: 1
Ueber Karl, +46 70 0838854
Joydeep Mukherjee , 016-541 5909


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