(Yicai) April 2 -- Power battery giant Contemporary Amperex Technology is partnering with China’s largest gas station operator to rapidly expand the country’s battery swapping network.

Under the agreement the pair signed today, CATL and China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation, better known as Sinopec, plan to build at least 500 battery swap stations this year, and aim to increase the number to 10,000 in the future.

The two companies will also work on establishing a unified national standard for battery swapping facilities as well as jointly manage and operate related assets.

“The transition to full electrification in the automotive industry is becoming increasingly clear, and the market is calling for a more comprehensive energy supply network,” said Yang Jun, general manager of CATL’s battery swapping business.

“Through our partnership with Sinopec, we aim to make battery swapping as convenient as refueling,” Yang said.

State-owned Sinopec has about 30,000 gas stations and more than 10,000 electric vehicle charging stations nationwide, as well as 28,000 gas stand convenience stores, serving more than 20 million customers per day, according to the Beijing-based firm.

The deal comes two weeks after Ningde-based CATL announced on March 18 a tie-up with electric carmaker Nio to cooperate in the battery swap business. CATL will invest as much as CNY2.5 billion (USD343.9 million) in Nio’s battery swap business unit, Nio Energy Investment.

Shanghai-based Nio has built 3,239 battery swap stations and 2,757 supercharging stations, making it the largest charging and swapping network in China.

CATL is the world’s largest supplier of power batteries. Last year, its battery installations surged 32 percent from the year before to 339.3 gigawatt-hours, maintaining its global leadership for the eighth straight year with a 38 percent market share, according to South Korea’s SNE Research.

Editor: Tom Litting