5 min EV battery swap system ..a new angle ?

Hillhater

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I know its been tried before, but there are a few new twists with this AMPLE system ( which is already operating around the SF Bay area apparently.)....that could be a real step forward for EVs
The biggest new angle is that the batteries are standard modules for all cars, and are NOT owned by the car owner. Who “leases” the pack on a usage basis.
This has an advantage of removing the initial cost of a battery pack from the purchace price of the EV !...that could be a complete game changer for EV uptake.
Apparently GM, Nissan Hyundai etc, are working with this idea.
[youtube]8VfkOSbzN1c[/youtube]
 
That is neat that they have a working system with Uber already, I had not heard that yet. I am also guessing that the charging at home/on the road option would still be available because you can't have one of these swap out stations on every corner.
It is potentially a fantastic value for someone that keeps their cars a long time to be able to have a fresh battery available without any drama. Just save up for the newest cells you can afford and bam, in and out, you have fresh/certified module capable of a reliable/predictable range rather than replacing the whole thing like a cell phone.

The biggest con I can see is those stations don't seem to have power washers to knock mud or snow off the bottom of the car so that you aren't shoving junk in your connectors or nice clean floor jack system. Other one is how many modules can they keep in one of those little pods. I imagine once you swap 20-30 cars, you'd have to wait for those depleted modules to recharge.

I really hope it becomes a viable option. More options is usually better for the consumer and if there are battery recalls or issues with a specific pack, they deal with it. All you would have to do is get a new module swapped in.
 
There are bound to be many snags to work out.. not least being how to get different car makers to agree on a “standard” pack size , voltage, coolong system, BMS controls etc etc
AND, so far no mention of the cost to the end user !
 
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