Operational strategy analysis of electric vehicle battery swapping stations

Business models for battery swapping stations (BSS) have been emerging as influenced by the increased attention to electric vehicles (EVs) and the deregulation of the electricity market. BSS may also provide support mechanisms for a sustainable EV ecosystem, but swapping stations are still at an early stage and viewed as being risky without a widely accepted prediction of financial return. Although different BSS operational strategies have been proposed, an integrated model that considers battery life, lifecycle cost, EV consumer behaviour, and supplementary grid services is still missing. A two-level hierarchical model is proposed where the unit model follows a transition-based battery allocation technique and the station model provides a system-view platform. Based on the designed hierarchical model, the strict grid scheduling strategy and grid scheduling with battery reservation strategy are evaluated in terms of profit and average battery life using New South Wales and South Australia electricity demand profiles. Results suggest that trading short-term grid services profitability in the grid scheduling with battery reservation strategy led to overall increased profit and also longer service life for batteries.