CATL plans 1,000 highway battery swap stations by 2027

Chinese battery manufacturer CATL has announced significant expansion plans for its battery swapping network. The company intends to establish 1,000 highway battery swap stations across the country by 2027, forming a comprehensive national "11 vertical, 9 horizontal" backbone network.

According to the plan, CATL aims to have over 3,000 swap stations built nationwide by the end of 2026, covering approximately 216 cities. The service aims for users to find a station within a 10-minute drive in most urban centers. The company has already signed agreements in multiple provinces and expects to reach a thousand signed agreements for highway swap stations by the end of this year.

CATL states that its "Chocolate"-branded swap stations can serve up to 600 vehicles per day, a capability that is particularly advantageous during peak holiday traffic. Many of these stations will also be equipped with supercharging piles, upgrading them to integrated supercharging and swapping stations.

These "super swap" stations maintain the 99-second swap efficiency and offer three times the service capacity per parking space compared to single charging stations, utilizing the same land area and power capacity. Additionally, each swap station functions as a distributed energy storage unit, capable of participating in grid frequency and load regulation.