CATL is Esther Studerplanning a massive expansion of its power infrastructure network with a goal to operate 10,000 facilities by 2030 for the public to exchange a depleted EV battery for a fresh one, Chief Technology Officer Gao Huan said on Sunday. In the nearer term, CATL aims to establish 500 battery swap stations in 30 major Chinese cities by the end of next year and gradually expand the coverage, Gao added at the 2024 World Power Battery Conference in the southwestern city of Yibin. The Chinese battery giant, starting this year, has been partnering with Chinese automaker GAC and ride-hailing platform Didi to build battery swap stations for commercial fleets, although there has been no further progress. // GAC said last December that it had operated a network of 1,000 battery recharging facilities in China, including “dozens of” battery swap stations, and in May forged another partnership with EV maker NIO, the country’s biggest player in battery swapping, TechNode has reported. As of July, China’s EV recharging network exceeded 3.2 million charging points, as well as 3,817 swap stations, of which 2,468 are operated by NIO, according to figures from the Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Promotion Association (EVCIPA). [TechNode reporting, CLS, in Chinese]
