SK Innovation said on Thursday that it has acquired a 13.3% stake in Blue Park Smart Energy(Beijing) Technology (BPSE), a subsidiary of BAIC Group.
The pair will collaborate in Batter-as-a-Service (BaaS) businesses.
The first project will be battery replacement stations. The stations will swap spent battery packs with charged battery packs.
Charging currently takes a long time for electric vehicles, and these stations will help increase convenience.
The batteries at the stations can also act like energy storage systems as part of a city’s distributed power system.
BPSE has received permission from the Chinese government to partake in battery recycling businesses. It current operates battery replacement stations for taxis and Mobility-as-a-Service operators in Beijing.
BPSE is expected to set the national standard in battery replacement in China.
SK Innovation is hoping to expand its BaaS business to battery rental, charging, recycling and reusing.
SK Innovation formed a joint venture with BAIC Group in battery manufacturing back in 2013.
