The future of mobility in action - excursion to a battery replacement station

Students on the Master's programme "Engineering and Sustainable Technology Management - Mobility and Automotive Industry " at our SRH Campus Berlin had the extraordinary opportunity to take a look at the future of electromobility. As part of the Future Mobility Concepts course, they visited INFRADianba 's innovative battery exchange station at Berlin's Westhafen together with Prof. Dr Frank Wolter.

Founded in 2019, the joint venture between the German infrastructure company InfraMobility and the Chinese battery swapping specialist Aulton is bringing Chinese technology to Europe for the first time to test new infrastructure solutions for electric vehicles.

The station impressively demonstrated the potential of state-of-the-art battery swapping technology:

• Ultra-fast battery replacement: in just 20 seconds, an empty battery is replaced fully automatically with a charged one - made possible by the use of robotics.
• Global compatibility: Special adapters enable connection between different systems. This brings a globally standardised charging and swapping infrastructure closer.
• Broad manufacturer coverage: The system is compatible with vehicles from 16 car brands - thanks to universal battery technology.
• Energy storage and grid connection: In the future, the stations will be linked to smart grid technologies to create sustainable energy storage solutions.
• Battery-as-a-service model: Instead of high acquisition costs for a vehicle battery, users could "rent" batteries flexibly. This reduces barriers to entry and also improves the life cycle management of energy storage systems.

The system is already established in China: Around 30 cities rely on Aulton technology. In Europe, on the other hand, the concept is still in the pilot phase - partnerships and investors are currently being actively sought.

The students were able to experience the entire process on site: from automated handling and storage to data analysis. This practical insight not only made the technical possibilities tangible, but also the challenges surrounding implementation, infrastructure and politics.

This vividly illustrated what studying at SRH University stands for: the combination of technology, sustainability and management expertise to actively shape the mobility of tomorrow.