The UK will see battery swapping hubs that allow electric HGVs to replace batteries in minutes by 2027, Octopus Energy and battery manufacturer CATL have promised. They say each hub will be capable of carrying out thousands of lorry battery swaps per day. The first UK mega hubs are expected to open in 2027, with more than 30 planned by 2035.
Octopus Energy is best known in the UK as an electricity supplier, but the global group’s ten businesses include energy management and billing software (Kraken) and electric vehicles. CATL is a Chinese battery company that already operates a battery-swapping network in its home market. In China it plans to reach 900 HGV battery swap stations by the end of 2026 and 5000 stations for small vehicles in 300 Chinese cities.
The two companies announced the battery swapping station plan as part of a new joint venture (JV) to accelerate the shift to electric road freight. The JV, which will be called ‘Swaptopus’, plans to roll out a European network of battery-swapping to support more than 300,000 electric trucks.
Greg Jackson, CEO and founder of Octopus Energy Group, said: “Electric trucks already beat diesel on running costs, the challenge is keeping them moving. Battery swapping changes that. Instead of waiting for hours, trucks can be back on the road in minutes.
“By combining Octopus’s software and energy expertise with CATL’s world-class battery technology, we’re making clean freight practical at scale across Europe.”
Dr. Robin Zeng, chairman and CEO of CATL, said: “Battery swapping will be a significant part of the future of commercial transport. We have field-proven this technology in China, and we are delighted to bring it to the UK and Europe as part of our joint venture with Octopus.
“Together, our expertise in battery swapping, B2G (Battery-to-Grid) and energy storage, paired with Octopus’s AI-powered energy trading and management technologies, will speed up the electrification of road transport across the region.”
William Rowe, CEO and founder of Swaptopus, said: “We believe the future of land based transport is electric and autonomous, and battery swapping is a massive part of the enabling infrastructure. Not only does it significantly reduce down time but since the batteries at the swapping stations can be charged and discharged when the grid needs it, they act as a virtual power plant and in turn lower costs for consumers.”
