A network that replaces electric vehicle batteries in 10 minutes has been deployed in the United States
Ample, the startup that developed the station and is launching 12 more like it, performs hundreds of battery changes every day.
A driver in San Francisco in a Nissan Leaf drove into a building, parked on a platform, and got out of the car. The platform then lifted the car into the air. Robotic arms carefully removed the batteries of the electric vehicle and placed new, fully charged batteries inside. The whole process took about 10 minutes.
The concept is not new. Early electric vehicle fleets experimented with battery swapping back in the 1940s. Some newer attempts have failed: Better Place, an Israeli startup that was launched in 2007, ceased operations by 2013. Tesla opened a single exchange station in 2013, but quickly closed it as it was not widely used.
Ample’s design uses a modular battery that can be installed in any car instead of the battery usually used by the manufacturer. The electronics are also designed to work with systems that differ from car to car.
Ample wants to partner with car manufacturers, who can then sell versions of their cars with the new modular batteries instead of standard batteries to fleet companies. In the Bay Area, it works with a fleet management company that rents cars to Uber drivers. Drivers use an app that directs them to the nearest battery replacement station with the shortest queue, and ensures that each battery is used as long as possible.
The cost of charging varies depending on the cost of electricity at certain times of the day, but the company aims to make its service cost less than the price of fuel for a gasoline car. The model can work with delivery fleets, rental cars, and other large fleets, and that his company plans to eventually also work directly with individual consumers.
In California, Ample currently has 12 exchange stations, and a $15 million grant from the California Energy Commission will help it expand. It is also starting to work with large fleets to install its network of stations in Europe.
The stations are quick to install and are located in easily accessible locations.
