Image: Octopus EnergyBoth partners unveiled their joint initiative on Monday at the Energy Tech Summit in London, Octopus Energy’s flagship event. The UK energy provider and CATL plan to begin building a European network of battery-swapping stations soon. These will allow electric HGVs to automatically exchange depleted batteries within minutes, eliminating the long charging times that have so far been a barrier to decarbonising freight transport.This initiative is not focused on standalone battery-swapping stations but on so-called ‘mega-hubs’ featuring multiple battery-exchange stations per site. Each hub is designed to serve thousands of electric HGVs daily. The first mega-hub is set to open in the UK as early as 2027, with over 30 additional sites planned across Europe by 2035.Once fully operational, the joint venture, named ‘Swaptopus’, aims to support more than 300,000 electric HGVs. This would reduce Europe’s dependence on oil imports and replace them with domestically produced renewable electricity.Greg Jackson, CEO and founder of the Octopus Energy Group, said: “Electric trucks already beat diesel on running costs, the challenge is keeping them moving. Battery swapping changes that. Instead of waiting for hours, trucks can be back on the road in minutes. By combining Octopus’s software and energy expertise with CATL’s world-class battery technology, we’re making clean freight practical at scale across Europe.”Dr. Robin Zeng, Chairman and CEO of CATL, said: “Battery swapping will be a significant part of the future of commercial transport. We have field-proven this technology in China, and we are delighted to bring it to the UK and Europe as part of our joint venture with Octopus. Together, our expertise in battery swapping, B2G (Battery-to-Grid) and energy storage, paired with Octopus’s AI-powered energy trading and management technologies, will speed up the electrification of road transport across the region.”Oscar Luo, Head of Overseas Investment at CATL, told the Financial Times that battery-swapping incurs lower costs for electric HGVs compared to ultra-fast charging and enhances battery longevity. “Our battery swap system can change the whole battery with more than 500 kilowatt-hour power in five minutes. That’s shorter than filling diesel into the tank,” said Oscar Luo.While battery-swapping systems for passenger cars in Europe have so far remained niche solutions – only car manufacturer Nio has seriously pursued this approach – CATL has already gained extensive practical experience in China. For example, CATL’s subsidiary Qiji Energy reported 305 battery-swapping stations for electric HGVs by the turn of the year 2025/26. By 2030, Qiji Energy plans to establish a nationwide battery-swapping network for electric HGVs, covering approximately 180,000km and encompassing 80 per cent of China’s HGV transport routes and 16 major city clusters. The Qiji system is characterised by standardised battery modules that can be swapped under the chassis, offering high flexibility: hauliers can choose the number of battery modules based on route and load requirements.Source: via email, ft.com
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