Rapid Electric Truck Battery Swaps
Swaptopus plans European battery-swapping mega-hubs to rapidly power electric heavy goods vehicles.
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Key Points
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CATL says it has already deployed battery-swapping at scale in China and is aiming to build “1,000 swapping stations in China by the end of 2025” and “10,000 within three years,” framing Europe as the next major market.
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The partners argue battery swapping addresses a specific operational bottleneck: even with fast charging, drivers can need to wait “close to an hour before getting back on the road,” while swapping can take “just a few minutes.”
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Battery swapping could reduce fleet electrification costs by changing the ownership model—carriers “do not necessarily need to own the battery itself,” with the battery described as “often the most expensive part of the vehicle.”
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Alongside swapping, Octopus and CATL are “exploring options to scale Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) technology across CATL’s network,” linking the infrastructure rollout to grid-interactive applications.
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CATL Chairman and CEO Robin Zeng said the JV combines CATL’s “expertise in battery swapping, B2G (Battery-to-Grid) and energy storage” with Octopus “AI-powered energy trading and management technologies.”
Octopus Energy and battery giant CATL announced a 50-50 joint venture called Swaptopus on June 22, 2026, to build a network of battery-swapping hubs for electric trucks across Europe. The first UK hub is set to open in 2027, with more than 30 locations planned by 2035, aiming to support over 300,000 electric trucks, according to CNEVPost.
The hubs let drivers swap a depleted 500 kWh battery in under five minutes — faster than filling a diesel tank. CATL Chairman Robin Zeng said the deal combines CATL's "expertise in battery swapping, B2G, and energy storage" with Octopus's "AI-powered energy trading and management technologies."
Five-Minute Swaps Target Trucking's Biggest Bottleneck
Even the fastest chargers today make truck drivers wait close to an hour before getting back on the road. Swaptopus cuts that to minutes. CATL's Oscar Luo put it plainly: "Our system can change a 500 kWh battery in five minutes. That's shorter than filling diesel into the tank." Octopus CEO Greg Jackson said the goal is clear — "with battery swapping, we will be cheaper than diesel is today," according to CNEVPost.
Each mega-hub is designed to serve thousands of lorries per day. The hubs will use Octopus's AI platform, called Kraken, to charge batteries when electricity is cheap — typically when wind or solar output is high — and sell power back to the grid at peak times. Swaptopus CEO William Rowe described each hub as able to "act as a small power plant."
CATL's China Playbook Heads to European Roads
CATL already runs around 2,500 battery-swapping stations in China and is targeting 10,000 within three years, according to CNEVPost. The company launched its EVOGO swapping brand in 2022 and has proven the model works at scale in high-density logistics markets. Europe is now the next step.
Chinese truck maker DeepWay is already testing swap-ready lorries in Germany. European brands like DAF, Volvo, and Iveco are in early talks with CATL about battery standardization. That standardization is the key hurdle — if European truck makers refuse to adopt CATL's battery format, the whole network could stall before it scales.
Renting the Battery Cuts the Upfront Cost of Going Electric
Electric trucks can cost two to three times more than diesel ones. The battery is often the most expensive part. Swaptopus changes that with a "Battery-as-a-Service" model — fleets buy the truck but rent the battery, paying only for the energy they use. Carriers "do not necessarily need to own the battery itself," the partners said, lowering the barrier to switching away from diesel.
The UK government is already pushing in the same direction. In January 2026, it raised the Plug-in Truck Grant to £120,000 per vehicle. A full ban on new non-zero-emission HGVs over 26 tonnes takes effect in 2040. The Swaptopus partners estimate the broader infrastructure build could attract £30 billion in private investment across Europe.
Home Batteries and V2G Round Out Octopus-CATL Ambitions
The Swaptopus announcement was not the only deal revealed at the Octopus Tech Summit. Octopus also launched a home battery range called Octopus Nook, built with CATL technology. The lineup includes a 2 kWh plug-in unit for renters and a wall-mounted 5 kWh model for homeowners that stacks up to 30 kWh, according to The Independent.
Both the home battery and the truck-swapping businesses feed into the same broader strategy. Octopus and CATL are also exploring Vehicle-to-Grid technology, which would let parked trucks push stored electricity back into the grid. Together, the moves signal that Octopus wants to manage energy not just for homes, but across an entire ecosystem — from living rooms to motorways.
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