CATL and Octopus Energy to launch European electric‑truck battery‑swap network

Chinese battery maker CATL and UK energy supplier Octopus Energy have created a 50‑50 joint venture, called Swaptopus, to build a battery‑swapping network for heavy‑duty electric trucks across Europe. The partners plan to install more than 30 swap stations by 2035, with the first sites expected in the United Kingdom from 2027, targeting major highway routes and logistics ports before expanding to Scotland and Wales.

The network aims to serve up to 300,000 electric trucks, offering a battery exchange in under five minutes – far quicker than the roughly one‑hour fast‑charging process – and allowing fleet operators to lease batteries rather than own them, which could lower the upfront cost of electric trucks and make total cost of ownership cheaper than diesel. The venture projects private investment of over £30 billion and envisions the stations also providing grid‑storage services that can be traded back to the electricity network.

CATL, the world’s largest battery producer, is on a U.S. blacklist of entities identified as Chinese military companies, a claim it denies. Octopus Energy is the UK’s largest household‑energy supplier and will handle regulatory and grid‑interaction aspects of the project.