Sweden-China Bridge

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Read the report Exploring battery-swapping for electric vehicles in China 1.0 Pdf, 3 MB, opens in new window.

Read the report Exploring battery-swapping for heavy trucks in China 1.0 Pdf, 2.3 MB, opens in new window.

Other reports

Experiences of Battery swapping for Electric Heavy Trucks from China

Read the report Pdf, 6.1 MB, opens in new window.

Author: Mike Danilovic, Tomas Müllern and Jasmine Lihua Liu
In cooperation with: Jeanette Andersson, Philip Almestrand Linné, Harrison John Bhatti, Wang Junhua, Liu Shuo, Qiu Xiaoping, Susan Lijiang Sun and Ma Hongwei

Summary of abstract

Electric vehicles can operate using either rechargeable batteries or refuellable hydrogen energy. Today, battery-based solutions are the dominant technology, while hydrogen is just around the corner.

The total sales of EHTs (Electric Heavy Trucks) in China amounted to less than 700 in 2018, and in 2021 rose to a significant figure of 10,513. This was an indication of the rapid growth of EHTs in China between 2018-2021. It is estimated that by the end of 2021, the total sales of EHTs in China 2022 might reach 25,000-35,000 vehicles.

In the first half of 2022, January – June, the proportion of battery swapping-based EHTs jumped to 48.29%, while cable charging-based EHTs accounted for 46% of new energy vehicles. The Sweden-China Bridge project arranged a webinar with leading actors in China to share experiences and knowledge on battery swapping for the benefit of Swedish actors. More than 200 people participated in the webinar. This report is a summary of the webinar.

A System Approach to Eletrification of Transportation – An International Comparison

Read the report Pdf, 5.4 MB, opens in new window.

Author: Harrisson John Batthi, Mike Danilovic and Arne Nåbo

Multidimensional Readiness Index for Electrification of Transportation System in China, Norway, and Sweden

Read the report Pdf, 7.1 MB, opens in new window.

Author: Harrisson John Batthi, Arne Nåbo and Mike Danilovic

In cooperation with: Tomas Müllern, Jasmine Lihua Liu, Jeanette Andersson, Philip Almestrand Linné, Wang Junhua, Liu Shuo, Qiu Xiaoping, Susan Lijiang Sun and Ma Hongwei

Exploring Battery Technology for Electrical Vehicles in China 1.0

Read the report Pdf, 1.1 MB, opens in new window.

Author: Jasmine Lihua Liu, Ran Dong och Mike Danilovic
In cooperation with: Tomas Müllern, Arne Nåbo och Philip Almestrand Linné

Summary of abstract

Batteries is one of the main systems of electric vehicle. Batteries determine the total performance and define the capabilities of the electric vehicle regardless it is a passenger vehicle or heavy truck. Batteries are also determining the total price of the electric vehicle to large extend.

In this report we are focusing on the technology development in historic perspective of the last 15 years in China. We see that the lithium-ion technology is the dominant technology, but we also see new emerging battery technologies that might be the game changer for the performance of electric vehicles. We demonstrate the dynamics of main battery technologies, LFP (lithium iron manganese, LiFeO4, battery cell) battery and NMC (lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide battery cell) battery, the distribution of installed volumes between LFP and NMC in the Chinese market.

New battery technologies such as the Li-S (Lithium-Sulfur) battery that was first proposed in the 1960s, but progress has been slow so far; it was not until the 21st century that China’s research on Li-S batteries began gradually to develop. Solid-state lithium and lithium-rich manganese-based battery technologies are becoming the new hot-spots of battery development in China.

Exploring Hydrogen Technology for Electric Vehicles in China 1.0

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Author: Jasmine Lihua Liu, Xiang Cheng och Mike Danilovic
In cooperation with: Tomas Müllern, Arne Nåbo och Philip Almestrand Linné

Summary of abstract

Hydrogen energy has received great attention as one technology that can provide society with clean energy, support decarbonization, and be one key technology in the electrification of transport.

In 2018, China’s hydrogen production was 21 million tons, accounting for 2.7% of the total energy according to the calorific value of energy management. In 2050, China’s hydrogen demand will be close to 60 million tons. Hydrogen energy is increasingly more widely used in China, and the market development speed is growing rapidly.

This report focuses on the development of hydrogen technology in China where the Chinese central government has put hydrogen technology on the strategic listing, repeatedly issued relevant policies to support the development of hydrogen technology and the industry, upgraded the fuel cell development to the level of strategic development, and guides and encourages the development of the fuel cell vehicle industry.

The hydrogen energy development plan (2018-2030) includes building 57 hydrogen stations in 2030,

Hydrogen energy in China is facing a trend of rapid speed and scale of development.

Exploring Inductive Charging Technology for Electric Vehicles in China

Read the report Pdf, 1.2 MB, opens in new window.

Author: Jasmine Lihua Liu, Shendong Zu och Mike Danilovic
In cooperation with: Tomas Müllern, Arne Nåbo och Philip Almestrand Linné

Summary of abstract

In 2020, there were about 360 million vehicles in China, of which 270 million were passenger vehicles, accounting for 75% of the total number of motor vehicles, while the new energy vehicle population was 4.17 million, a year-on-year increase of 9.45%.

This article mainly conducts research in the field of wireless power transmission for static and dynamic charging of electric vehicles in China.

The development in demonstration sites began in 2015, based on the early days of research and basic technology development.

In 2015, EV WPT’s TRL (Technology Readiness Level) curve reached TRL6 in the private domain due to the early mature theoretical system. Since 2019, the development of EV WPT in the private sector has become more mature, and the curve will reach TRL7 in 2020.

There are several Chinese automotive OEM companies, such as FAW, SAIC, Geely, Changan, Dong- feng, BAIC, GAC, BYD, etc., all of which are involved in the development of wireless charging technology, as well as several independent equipment companies. There are also more than 30 electric vehicle wireless charging equipment suppliers in China, including Xiamen New Page, ZTE New Energy, Huawei Technology, Wanan, Anjie, and Zhonghui.

There are two main reasons why the commercialization of wireless inductive chargiung is not rapidly growing:

• There is a lack of national and international standards, particularly in interoperability, preventing the wireless charging technology from going all the way to full scale commercialization.
• There is also uncertainty concerning radiation associated with wireless charging. The sender and the receiver modules are physically separated and the distance between must be overcome with high energy transmission that creates radiation outside the ray beam between the sender and the receiver. It is unclear what outcome this radiation might have on humans and animals. Until this is clear, full-scale commercialization has been put on hold.

Research questions

1. How is technological development organized within and between Chinese universities, research institutes and industry to ensure that both technical development and commercialization of the technology take place in a synchronized way?
2. How does academia collaborate with (a) integrated technology development and (b) urban and social development to ensure that technological development for electrification of vehicle systems is synchronized with the development of intelligent and smart cities?
3. What is the basis for deciding (decision-making criteria) on the choice of different electric vehicle propulsion technologies, from personal cars to heavy vehicles, such as fuel cells, hybrid technology, battery drive, and various electric road solutions?
4. How are future technology choices for the progress of the various electric vehicle systems viewed?
5. How is the supply of electricity needed for the rapid development of electric vehicle systems ensured?
6. How will business models be designed to enable the introduction of large-scale electric vehicle systems across China?

Project targets

• Establish and develop an academic knowledge-sharing and transfer platform between Swedish and Chinese universities and research institutes.
• Describe the updated development of electrified transport system solutions integrated with ecosystem solutions for smart and intelligent cities in China, including both technology and business model development.
  
• Create a data-driven knowledge base for mutual learning between Sweden and China. Perform 2–3 case studies, 1–2 of which will be studied in depth to understand the development and implementation status of technical systems in China.
• Disseminate information on current cooperation and experience gained to relevant actors in Sweden, as well as create an infrastructure for future contacts, projects and other joint activities such as mutual workshops, seminars and international conferences.
• Make the Sweden-China platform known in both Sweden, China and in the western ERS community. Share knowledge & assess the potential for future research, collaborative projects and other joint activities between the Swedish and Chinese academies.
• Final report and finalizing the project.

Project research methods

• Literature reviews of national Chinese journals (both English and Chinese articles), university databases etc. to learn what the research can show regarding the central areas of the project that are in.
• Conduct in-depth interviews with key personnel from academia and companies to create an understanding of identified technologies and technical solutions for the electrification of vehicle systems.
• Identify key development projects and conduct 2–3 case studies to understand in more depth the “what, why, who and how” of technical and business solutions that are being developed and their interaction with intelligent and smart cities. These case studies will be identified in dialogue with the reference group for the project.
• Conduct workshops with key researchers and leading companies to map prerequisites for technology and business development.
• Identify particularly interesting development projects and carry out in-depth studies that enable a deeper knowledge of technological and business development to electrify vehicle systems. These will be identified in dialogue with the reference group in the project.
• Conduct collaborative workshops with representatives of different organizations, functions and organizational levels to explore and better understand topics of interest for this project.
• Observational studies with the universities and research institutes involved in R&D in the above areas.

Project deliverables

• A knowledge platform for cooperation between key Swedish and Chinese academic and research institutes involved in the development of electric vehicle systems and their connections to the development of intelligent cities.
• Report on state-of-the art knowledge regarding the technological development of electric vehicle and transportation systems and the interaction between technological development and commercialization of electric vehicle systems from a societal development perspective.
• Descriptive and problematize articles presented at national and international conferences.
• 1-2 in-depth studies in selected special areas. The focus may be on heavy vehicle development, including buses and their technical design. In-depth studies provide insight and knowledge about the interaction between academia and industry in particularly interesting areas, such as various technical solutions for the electrification of both heavy and light vehicles, including the design of business models.
  
• Descriptions and analyses of business models – exploring and in-depth understanding the content of the development of business models for the electrification of vehicle systems and their integration into society.
• 2-3 case studies of interesting development projects concerning electrification of vehicle systems in China. The focus of the different case studies may vary. Some may focus on energy supply systems, such as fuel cells, hybrid technology, batteries, etc. Others may focus on the interaction between electric vehicle systems and smart cities. And some may focus on the development of new technical systems such as solar roads.
• Article analyses intended to be published in international journals.
• Literature summaries with reflections and analyses of the state of knowledge in China regarding technological, business and societal development for electric vehicle systems.
• Summary and analytical final report.

Organisation

Academia

• Mike Danilovic, project leader, professor, Halmstad University, Sweden.
• Tomas Mülllern, professor, Jönköping University, Jönköping International Business School, Sweden.
• Jasmine Lihua Liu, (刘莉华), Ph.D., Senior researcher, Lund University and Affiliated researcher at MMTC, Jönköping University, International Business School, Sweden & Shanghai Dianji University, China.
• Arne Nåbo, tech. lic., research director, Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute, Sweden.
• Philip Almestrand Linné, PhD, researcher, Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute, Sweden.
• Jeanette Andersson, researcher, Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute, Sweden.
• Wang Junhua, professor, Tongji University, Shanghai, China.
• Liu Shuo, assistant professor, Tongji University, Shanghai, China.
• Qiu Xiaoping, professor, Southwest Jiatong University, Chengdu, China.
• Susan Lijiang Sun, project- joint manager, professor, Shanghai Dianji University, Shanghai, China.
• Ma Hongwei, associate professor, Shanghai Dianji University, China.
  

Industry

• Shanghai Powerkeeper, Shanghai, China
• Shanghai Jiulong Power, Shanghai, China
• Guoxun Yang, VD, Zhejiang VIE-Evatran Electronic Technologies Co., Ltd., Shanghai, China
• Liu Zhen, ingenjör, Shanghai, Urban and Rural Construction and Transportation Development Research Institute, China
• Scania China Innovation Center
  

Financing

• Swedish Transport Administration, Sweden

Project period

2021–2025