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. Currently, there are two modes of battery swapping being developed in the market. One is to build battery swap stations, where automatic robotic arms at the station are used to replace depleted batteries. The other is self-swapping type, that is the robotic arm is integrated into the vehicle itself. The advantage of the latter is that the location of the swapping process can be flexible, and excessive cost and the large area required to build swapping stations can be saved.
The scope of this thesis is to perform techno-commercial feasibility study of battery swap solution in China construction equipment industry, especially focusing on battery swap station and self-swapping solutions comparative investigation from technical perspective.


The proposed main thesis work activities are:
Literature study of current battery swap solutions of electric construction equipment in Europe market, with focus on excavators and wheel loaders
Comparative analysis between battery swap stations and self-swapping solutions
Analysis of technical challenges of self-swapping solutions
Functional safety design of self-swapping



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


Thesis Level:Master thesis


Language:English or Swedish


Starting date:2023-01-15


Number of students: 1


Contacts:
Joydeep Mukherjee , 016-541 5909
Karl Uebel - +46 70 0838854


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