Geely’s battery swap tech for heavy vehicles gives full range in 5 minutes

Geely Technology Group has brought out a new battery swapping technology for heavy goods vehicles (HGVs). While these swap stations work on a concept to that of EVs, the swap method is considerably different as the vehicles, including cement mixers and construction trucks, are significantly bigger and heavier.

It comes after Geely, a subsidiary of Zhejiang Geely Holding, touted last year a battery-swap technology in China that has been designed specifically for rideshare vehicles that could replace an EV battery pack within a minute. While Geely says it is yet to hit those battery swap speeds, it is currently doing so at a very large scale.

Recently, Geely shared news of the HGV swaps in its media centre on behalf of the Technology Group. Geely hopes this swap technology will make heavier commercial vehicles like cement mixers and construction trucks more sustainable. Despite the fact that the trucks do not appear much different from the outside, a digital visit to the swap station reveals something unique. To make swapping the batteries easier, a large black box can be found behind the driver's seat.

As Geely shared, current cement mixers use a battery that can store 280kWh of power, which provides around 190 km (118 miles) of range while simultaneously powering other functions of the vehicle, such as spinning the mixing drum. According to Geely, the entire process takes five minutes from start to finish, similar to a trip to the gas station (but much less expensive).

Geely's swap stations require about 200 square feet of space and are easy to build. Additionally, some of the station's operations can be powered using solar panels. Eight battery packs can be stored at a station, and each of them takes around an hour to fully charge, thanks to Geely's smart battery management. As many as 50 vehicles can be supported by a single station, Geely claims.

Also read: Geely And Renault signed contract to take up South Korea and other Asian car markets