German start-up Swobbee has received another €6m in funding as it looks to expand its light electric vehicle battery swapping service in Europe. The firm has already attracted a number of high profile partners, including micro-mobility operators Tier and Spin, as well as delivery firms Hermes and DPD.

Electric vehicle battery swapping has taken off enormously in Taiwan where exchange stations are likely to outnumber petrol stations before the end of the year. Swobbee makes no bones about the fact that the main operator there, Gogoro, is providing something of a template for how it is setting about things.

“Our role model is Gogoro,” co-founder Thomas Duscha told TechCrunch last month. “Gogoro’s is a highly vertically integrated model with e-mopeds – but as we know, the e-moped will never be the number one transport mode in Europe, so we believe in small mobility like e-bikes, cargo bikes and kick scooters.”

> 5 of the best e-mopeds with removable batteries

At Swobbee swapping stations – which occupy less than one square metre – flat light electric vehicle batteries are exchanged for fully charged ones of the same type.

By producing its own mopeds, Gogoro has been able to focus on one battery type. Swobbee stations, in contrast, host six different battery types with plans to add a couple more before the end of the year.

The focus up until now has been on businesses with large fleets. However, Swobbee also wants to explore whether it could offer its service to the public.

“This year, we are piloting together with the European Union a B2C model where we would like to discover if swappable batteries or battery-sharing services could be a thing for European customers,” said Duscha. “We know that in Asia – especially in East Asia – it’s pretty much working, but we need to see if this also works in Europe.”

The firm currently boasts over 50 swapping stations in Germany but will be looking to expand that considerably if it is to provide users with a network they can rely on.