(Yicai Global) June 12 --  Alibaba-backed Hellobike will join hands with Chinese battery maker  Contemporary Amperex Technology and Hangzhou's Ant Financial Services  Group to build stations where users of shared e-bikes may swap for a  fully charged battery.  

The three firms will form a  CNY1 billion (USD144.5 million) joint venture, the Shanghai-based  vehicle-sharer said in a statement today, without disclosing the JV's  shareholding ratio. Ningde-based CATL will supply the JV with power units and Ant Financial's mobile wallet Alipay facilitates payments.

Since  launching e-bikes in China in 2017, Hellobike has gained 2 million  users and it replaces nearly 500,000 batteries each day, said Chief Executive Yang Lei who will also lead the JV as its CEO.  The total number of e-bikes in China is close to 300 million, amounting  to 700 million trips per day with 100 million times of charging. 

Sharing batteries will effectively solve safety hazards that come with limitations of range, said Yang. 

Editor: Emmi Laine