Ample’s model involves the startup owning the actual battery modules—this solves the problem of an EV owner having their own new pack replaced by an older and possibly degraded one.
This does not solve the problem. It just avoids the problem.
AFAIK nobody works on really solving this problem.
Its also a terrible way of reducing charging time for anything that doesn’t have an enormous battery like an electric Lorry/Semi. Even then its like 30 minutes for 70% charge for the Tesla Semi, which is roughly the same as a mandated break anyway for the driver.
What is more useful is making sure all EV batteries are easily swappable by third parties as this will massively extend the lifespan of EVs if you do not need to go back to the main dealer for a much marked up battery replacement when the cars battery stops holding a useful amount of charge past the 10 year mark.
Only took a decade -_-
Given that there is no standardization of battery modules and a whole slew of downsides of different size and generation of cars having to use the same battery, battery swapping is unlikely to ever become a thing for the foreseeable future, outside some fleet vehicles.
Also, I mentioned this over in the EV thread on the 500e, but the car has poor range, is expensive, and doesn’t even qualify for full US subsidies. The 500e is DOA.
I have the original 500e (ya know the one with “80” miles of range) they’re quite popular and very useful day to day. I agree the new 500e is too expensive but I think the range is fine…also the original 500e was about the same price but these days dirt cheap.
Back to the topic at hand: Fuck battery swaps, it’s a bad idea with good intentions and that’s why it keeps failing except for PEV (personal electric vehicles) such as mopeds/ebikes.
How does the business half of battery swapping work? Obviously you’d pay for charging the battery but who actually owns the battery? Who is responsible for the battery degradation?
Subscription’s 🤣😭
I don’t really get this. Swap and go gas cylinders have existed for ages. You buy the bottle initially, and then it costs x amount to swap for a full one. And when it reaches its expiry its replaced by the company doing the swapping
Battery degradation just needs to be factored in to the cost of the swap
Gas cylinders do not cost ten grand though…
Has to be a subscription or a per-swap fee. Probably subscription to account for the degradation point.
But, you essentially have a subscription for car energy now, you probably pay weekly for gasoline. If they can make it competitive to that I think they have a shot. Say $50/week in gas, means $200/month…seems like that could be profitable. And at least some of the money goes all to the car company, not a million different GA stations, which is a good incentive for them to try to make it work.
$200/month to drive an EV is really expensive though. I drive 30.000km/year and pay around $70/month in electricity for the car. The average driver in my country drives something like 12.000km/year, so that’s closer to $30/month in electricity. That makes $200 seem insane.
deleted by creator
Fun fact, until recently, Tesla batteries were made to be swappable at stations. (According to Monroe live) They have minimal screws all their connectors facing upwards so they can be removed by a robot.
Here’s a video of a Tesla demo of a battery swap. https://youtu.be/HlaQuKk9bFg
