Battery Swapping: MAPNA’s Solution for Rapid EV Charging

MAPNA Group is planning to implement electric vehicle battery swapping stations to facilitate drivers’ access to rapid battery charging and help promote green means of transportation.

In recent years, EVs have gradually grabbed people's attention and become regarded as a sort of clean energy vehicle, owing to steep decline in nonrenewable resources such as oil and coal, and also due to excessive consumption and the consequent environmental degradation.

The critical issue for the effective operation of EVs is energy replenishment. There are two basic solutions to this problem: EV charging and battery swapping.

In fast-charging (DC) stations, EVs require 30 to 60 minutes to fully charge their batteries, whereas this time climbs to 3 to 4 hours when hooked into slow DC chargers.

To tackle this issue, MAPNA is set to provide battery swapping services as an alternative solution. Battery swapping is a revolutionary technique that allows electric vehicles to be charged much more quickly. After removing the drained battery modules from the vehicle, they are placed on racks to be charged and ready for the next vehicle.

MAPNA’s prospective battery swapping stations combine the benefits of both slow charging and fast charging, i.e., slowly recharging the EV batteries at off-peak periods while quickly refueling the EVs within a very short time.

However, the development of these technologies entails more comprehensive infrastructure, including software for booking, locating and paying for such services. MAPNA Electric and Control Engineering and Manufacturing Company (MECO) has upgraded its web-based and mobile applications to include the new feature, assisting EV drivers in quickly replenishing or swapping their batteries.

Mobile Application 

MECO's Electric Vehicle and Infrastructure Development Center (EVIC) has created a Progressive Web Application (PWA) that is available for Android and iOS smartphones.

The app allows users to reserve and locate charging stations, as well as make payments. The software also includes a detailed explanation on various EV charging options.

The change brought around by the upgrade will be fundamental. When the number of battery swapping stations gets big enough, EV drivers can locate the nearest station with ready batteries anytime and anywhere.