CATL Launches Super Swap Integrated Network to Address Industry Losses

CATL unveiled its ‘super swap integrated’ network solution at its super technology day, combining battery swap and ultra-fast charging infrastructure to address profitability challenges across the energy replenishment sector. According to Yang Jun, General Manager of CATL’s battery swap division, the new approach represents a fundamental architectural redesign rather than simply co-locating swap stations and charging piles, with the goal of optimizing energy efficiency, user experience, and asset utilization rates.

Technical Innovation and Performance Metrics

CATL’s third-generation Shenxing ultra-fast charging battery achieves full charge in 6 minutes at room temperature, setting a new global record for power battery charging rates. The super swap integrated station design shares transformer and charging modules, reducing energy conversion steps and lowering comprehensive electrical losses by over 13 percentage points compared to market-standard battery storage plus charging solutions. According to the company, equipment reuse rates reach above 85%, with individual parking spaces delivering three times the service capacity of battery storage charging stations at only one-fifth the fixed investment cost of the latter.

Yang Jun explained that the super swap integration fundamentally addresses two persistent challenges with ultra-fast charging: energy conversion efficiency and grid friendliness. He characterized battery storage plus ultra-fast charging as “merely a transitional solution.”

Industry Challenges and Utilization Crisis

Yang Jun stated to media including The Paper that “the energy replenishment industry faces very significant challenges today, with nearly the entire industry operating at a loss” and utilization rates remaining very low. He described an unusual industry condition where demand from users is enormous while supply-side utilization is extremely low. Both charging stations and battery swap stations currently face low usage rates, supply-demand mismatches, and profitability pressure, with individual swap stations requiring multi-million yuan investments despite the industry still being in an early “land grab” development phase where asset efficiency remains difficult to assess.

Strategic Vision Beyond Speed

Regarding the necessity of battery swap given extreme ultra-fast charging speeds, Yang Jun emphasized that while public perception of swap focuses on speed and user experience, these represent only shallow advantages. He advocated for deeper understanding of two additional dimensions: vehicle-battery separation and the societal value behind battery swapping.

On vehicle-battery separation, Yang Jun argued that this model lowers initial purchase costs. He stated that greater focus on battery technology iteration reveals that leasing batteries is superior to purchasing them, as swap transfers battery degradation concerns to third-party battery holders. “Battery physical performance inevitably degrades. Although our batteries perform excellently with gentle degradation curves, they still degrade—why should consumers bear this degradation?” He advocated for leasing over purchase, citing battery upgrade capability as a key advantage.

Yang Jun also emphasized that comprehensive battery recycling and reuse are essential for sustainable new energy development. He noted that even for lead-acid batteries, national mandatory recycling has been in place for over 10 years yet recovery rates in formal channels only recently exceeded 50%. Vehicle-battery separation can enable planned recovery and remanufacturing, becoming “a source of sustainable development.”

Standardization and Partnership Strategy

Yang Jun confirmed that CATL and NIO maintain a strategic partnership in battery swap, noting that “there are not many players in this track, but the underlying understanding among participants makes consensus easier to reach.” He identified standardization as the most critical issue to solve: “Charging has national standards, but battery swap today lacks national standards. We have reached a consensus to jointly advance the achievement of China’s battery swap national standards, ultimately allowing consumers to avoid difficult choices.”

Deployment Timeline and Scale

CATL Chairman曾毓群 predicted at the 2024 Chocolate Swap Ecology Conference that by 2030, battery swap, home charging, and public charging piles will divide the market equally. In 2025, CATL’s first full year after formally announcing entry into the swap business, the company built 1,020 Chocolate swap stations (passenger vehicles) and 305 Qiqi swap stations (heavy trucks). Construction speed in 2026 is planned to double compared to 2025.

By end of 2026, CATL plans to cumulatively build 4,000 super swap integrated stations covering nearly 190 cities and a 12-north-11-east highway network. The company will also partner with automakers and energy partners to build a “super swap shared network” based on technology sharing, interconnection, and joint investment. Initial partners include Long An, Chery, GAC, Raize, SGMW, and Beike, with a plan to construct over 100,000 shared energy infrastructure facilities by end of 2028.

曾毓群 emphasized at the launch event that the newly released super swap integrated network addresses energy efficiency issues, evolving from single-function energy replenishment facilities into “energy internet” infrastructure that enables both swap-charge integration and demand-responsive power distribution.

FAQ

Q: What is the ‘super swap integrated’ solution and how does it differ from existing charging infrastructure?

A: According to Yang Jun, the super swap integrated solution represents a fundamental architectural redesign combining battery swap and ultra-fast charging infrastructure, not simply co-locating them. The design shares transformer and charging modules to reduce energy conversion steps, lowering electrical losses by over 13 percentage points compared to battery storage plus charging stations. Individual parking spaces deliver three times the service capacity at one-fifth the fixed investment cost.

Q: Why does CATL emphasize battery swap if ultra-fast charging can charge in 6 minutes?

A: Yang Jun stated that while speed and user experience are advantages of battery swap, the deeper value lies in vehicle-battery separation and societal sustainability. Vehicle-battery separation lowers initial purchase costs and allows consumers to lease rather than purchase batteries, avoiding bearing the cost of battery degradation. Additionally, swap infrastructure enables planned battery recycling and remanufacturing essential for sustainable development.

Q: What are CATL’s expansion plans for battery swap infrastructure?

A: CATL plans to build 4,000 super swap integrated stations by end of 2026, covering nearly 190 cities and highway networks. Through partnerships with automakers including Long An, Chery, GAC, Raize, SGMW, and Beike, the company aims to construct over 100,000 shared energy infrastructure facilities by end of 2028.