The government is finalising battery swapping guidelines for electric buses and cars, in addition to two and three wheelers which are already functional in some of the cities. The Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI) will take the proposal to the Prime Minister Office (PMO) in the next fortnight for approval.

MHI is working with Ministry of Power (MoP), Ministry of Road Transport (MORTH) and Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) for the same, sources said.

“Consultations are going on battery swapping of electric vehicles and we have a meeting at PMO in the next 10-15 days. We are still at planning stage on what all should be there in the swapping of battery guidelines for two/three-wheelers and buses. For passenger vehicles, the manufacturers will need to be consulted,” a senior government official told businessline.

Norms sent to MHI

The official said MoP has already framed guidelines on battery swapping stations. These guidelines have been sent to the MHI which is expected to give its comments on the same.

The MoP’s ‘Guidelines for Installation and Operation of Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure-2024’ are aimed at meeting the requirements of electric vehicle (EV) with integrated batteries. The alternative method of powering EVs is through swappable batteries which can be charged at dedicated battery charging stations.

“We expect guidelines will be made on battery swapping stations soon...that will be a big step because once the guidelines are ready that means swapping stations/ infrastructures can come up cities where they are required,” the official said.

Battery swapping is a method of quickly replacing an EV’s fully or partially discharged battery with a charged one. EVs are traditionally purchased with “fixed” batteries which can only be charged using the power supply. Like fuelling stations for internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, adequate and reliable charging networks are a pre-requisite for mass EV adoption. Therefore, efforts are underway to boost the availability of charging infrastructure which is still not adequate.

However, swapping will save a significant amount of time.

“The next step should be to allow passenger cars and buses so that swapping services are available for these vehicles as well. It is a work in progress. MoP has made certain guidelines from their side, MORTH has allowed sales of electric two and three-wheelers without batteries. BIS is making standards for such vehicles and swapping stations on safety and performance, which will be another big step,” the official added.

Battery swapping

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MORTH) has allowed electric two and three-wheeler manufacturers to sell vehicles without battery. Swapping of battery services is available in some cities already.

Battery swapping has been going on for electric two and three-wheelers and for certain buses in selected cities. For instance, Sun Mobility is active in select areas and has several battery swapping stations across the country.

According to Sun Mobility, the company has deployed its solution at 650+ Swap Points in more than 20 cities across the country so far, powering over 560 million km and over 23 million swaps. It has partners such as Zomato, Swiggy, Rapido, Zypp, Piaggio and Revfin.

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