The fastest electric vehicle charging stations currently get an empty battery to 80 percent full in about 30 minutes. But a new company is working on swapping out empty battery packs for fully charged ones. That would get an electric vehicle to 100 percent full in about 10 minutes.
Ample, which officially launched this week at two sites in San Francisco and another Oakland, builds and operates battery-swapping stations that use a robot to pluck out dead battery packs from under the car and replace them with packs fully charged and ready to go.
The Ample stations can be set up anywhere close to a power source so that the robot machine can get under the belly of the car and also charge a waiting supply of replacement batteries. The stations are completely autonomous and you don't even have to get out of the car while the batteries are switched. You communicate with the station through a smartphone app.
"The beauty is it takes us a couple weeks to set up," CEO Khaled Hassounah told me at a demo in San Francisco last week. Each station takes up two parking spaces and is temporary. If necessary, it can be moved across the street or down the block. "It fits into neighborhoods easily," he said. There's no drilling into the pavement or other permanent construction, like there is for the 500,000 new charging stations the federal government is supporting.
iRobot Roomba Essential Vac Q011 Robot Vacuum Cleaner—$159.99(List Price $249.99)
Samsung Galaxy Tab A9+ 10.9" 64GB Wi-Fi Tablet—$142.49(List Price $219.99)
Apple AirPods Pro 2nd Gen With MagSafe USB-C Charging Case—$168.99(List Price $249.00)
Fitbit Charge 6 Fitness Tracker With 6-Months Membership—$99.95(List Price $159.95)
Apple Watch Series 9 (GPS, 41mm, Midnight, S/M, Sports Band)—$279.99(List Price $399.00)
The Ample bots replace the battery units in about 10 minutes, but eventually the company anticipates speeding it up to five minutes. Pricing for the everyday EV driver is still being worked out, but it will be comparable to gasoline fill-ups. A Tesla Supercharger charging session costs about $22 for 250 miles of battery range.
Here's the process, starting with driving into the station:
Since January, Ample has been working with Uber drivers who can rent modified Nissan Leaf plug-in cars that work with the robot system at SF locations. Eventually Ample hopes drivers will be able to buy a new EV with a modular battery back that's compatible with the Ample swap stations. But until then, only certain drivers who are part of fleets, like Uber, will be able to use the robot stations.
Nissan is one of five automakers the company is already working with as it launches. The company wasn't ready to share the full list quite yet, but mentioned nine different EV models (including the Leaf) that will be supported. In press photos, the Kia Niro EV was spotted parked in a station.
Battery swapping has caught on mostly in China, while in the U.S. we're still plugging in at home and at public charging stations. Chinese EV makers have reportedly installed 452 stations throughout the country, with a large portion in Beijing. The government pledged to build more of the stations in its latest infrastructure plans. Market research group P&S Intelligence found that EVs that charge through battery swapping run 25 percent longer than those plugged in directly.
Ample's station can be more energy efficient than a plug-in station, especially fast ones. The Ample station can charge those battery packs during low peak times, when energy is in low demand. It can also be programmed to charge the empty batteries when the grid is using more renewable energy, like wind and solar.
SEE ALSO:Public EV charging is a problem. Biden’s presidency could change that.During the holidays and other peak times, fast charging stations have become known for long lines along major travel roads. With battery swapping, Ample is hoping to get those lines moving and cars loaded with efficiently charged energy.
TopicsElectric Vehicles
(责任编辑：時尚)
This 'sh*tpost' bot makes terrible memes so you don't have to
Mark Zuckerberg subtly made a case for not breaking up Facebook
Facebook temporarily removed status updates cross
Celebrate National Dog Day with our 10 favorite puppo tweets of 2018This weird squid looks like it has googly eyes, guysWhen Honda revealed its stunning and grandparent-scaring Civic Hatchback Prototype earlier this year
...[详细]Dear Fitbit: How to stop me, a loyal user, switching to a new Apple Watch
Dear Fitbit on my wrist,Help. We have to talk about our relationship. (Which, my profile page helpfu
...[详细]Facebook temporarily removed status updates cross
For ages, you could hook up your Facebook account to Twitter, allowing you to automatically post twe
...[详细]Mark Zuckerberg to share how he'll answer Facebook's biggest questions
Brace yourselves. Mark Zuckerberg published a Facebook message today with news of his intention to p
...[详细]What brands need to know about virtual reality
Virtual reality (VR) is all the rage. Premium publishers like USA Today, the New York Times, and AOL
...[详细]Shop uses photos of Jeff Goldblum to sell stuff and frankly we'll take 1 of everything
The question of how best to sell a photo frame has long plagued store owners.Should they be filled w
...[详细]Cynthia Nixon loses NY primary and shares a powerful message to young people on Twitter
Governor Andrew Cuomo won the Democratic nomination for a third term as governor of New York, defeat
...[详细]Everything coming to Amazon Prime Video in September
With tons of season premieres over the next few weeks, TV lovers have a pretty packed autumn. But, i
...[详细]Xiaomi accused of copying again, this time by Jawbone
Imitation is not always the best form of flattery.。 SEE ALSO:Xiaomi's MacBook Air clone is called, w
...[详细]This female tennis player was penalized for removing her shirt
The U.S. Open has a lot of thoughts about tennis -- and women's boobs.On Wednesday, French tennis pl
...[详细]Over 82,000 evacuate as Blue Cut fire rapidly spreads in southern California
Facebook temporarily removed status updates cross