Toyota has joined together with other Japanese manufacturers to help make swappable battery packs for commercial vehicles a practical reality. 

The Commercial Japan Partnership Technologies Corporation (CJPT) was launched by Toyota Motor Corporation with Isuzu Motors and Hino Motors in March 2021 and has since been joined by Suzuki and Daihatsu. 

One of the principal challenges presented by commercial battery electric vehicles (BEVs) is recharging that takes longer than the refuelling time for conventional petrol and diesel vehicles. This causes an increase in logistics downtime, when vehicles and cargo are at a standstill. 

The introduction of commercial BEVs is also expected to create a potential increase in peak electricity demand at business sites when numerous vehicles are being recharged at the same time.To solve these issues, CJPT and Yamamoto Transport will begin studying the practical application of detachable and portable cartridge batteries which can be swapped out of vehicles quickly and easily. Such packs are already commonly used in electric delivery mopeds in many cities. 

The company believes that the development of common-specification cartridge batteries and recharging systems for a range of commercial vehicles, from vans to light-duty trucks, will reduce their cost and encourage their widespread use. 

In addition to promoting the use of green power by eliminating the gap between renewable energy generation peaks and the timing of battery recharging, the company also intends to study ways of increasing the resilience of electric energy supply communities. This could include, for example, the delivery of cartridge batteries to disaster zones where access to the power infrastructure is compromised. 

The companies are also on the look out for new partners on the standardisation and commercialisation of cartridge batteries to help accelerate the take up of electrified vehicles.

The swap system is already popular for scooters and delivery bikes