Austrian engineering services company, AVL has developed a swappable battery concept for two- and three-wheelers. The lithium-ion battery unit, which is a prototype at the moment, has been developed by the company in India with the help of its global team and showcased at SIAT 2019 in Pune.

The company says that the swappable lithium-ion battery concept has been developed keeping in mind the harsh and varying road conditions in India. The company has opted for 18650 form cylindrical cells in the making of this 48V battery pack, which has an installed energy of 2kWh and a peak (power) output of 5kW. 

According to the company, the swappable battery pack, which has a volume of 8.5 litres, weighs 9 kgs as against a typical battery pack of 12kg. It is to be noted that a swappable battery unit ideally should not be too heavy in weight to cause inconvenience to the vehicle owner in the process of battery swapping.

A subject matter expert at AVL India also say that while one such lithium-ion battery pack would be enough to power a two-wheeler, a three-wheeler will require three such packs thereby totalling the installed energy to 6kWh and weighing 27kg. Three packs are primarily required in the three-wheeler to power additional weight when compared to a two-wheeler.

Further, the battery pack is pre-conditioned to support fast charging and is optimised for performance, say the experts at AVL. The company says that its engineers developed the concept based on the interest expressed by industry stakeholders. It is understood that AVL will now look out for transferring this technology to a suitable stakeholder in the near future.

AVL is the world's largest independent company for the development of powertrain systems with internal
combustion engines as well as instrumentation and test systems.