【】

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.
Prime Day deals you can shop right now
Products available for purchase here through affiliate links are selected by our merchandising team. If you buy something through links on our site, Mashable may earn an affiliate commission.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
相关文章
J.K. Rowling makes 'Harry Potter' joke about Olympics event
LONDON -- For anyone who isn't familiar with the Olympics omnium events in the velodrome, the points2025-04-03- 同樣的一道菜 ,不同的人做出來的味道肯定是不一樣的 ,這除了人體的差異之外 ,更多的其實是做法上的區別,而每個人其實都是希望吃到好吃的菜的 。那麽 ,下麵就讓小編來為大家介紹一下有關粉蒸韭菜包雞蛋的具體做法 。今2025-04-03
- 2023歐冠1/8決賽 :波爾圖VS國際米蘭賽前情報分析_足球 - 世界杯,歐洲杯 ,天下體育 ,足球,世界杯 ,籃球,羽球,乒乓球 ,球類, 棒球 ( 波爾圖,國米 )www.ty42.com 日期:2022025-04-03
- 如果你每天下班回家,都有熱騰騰的香甜可口的飯菜在等你 ,你肯定會感到幸福 。當然,這樣的幸福很少有人得到 。不過,這幸福你可以自己給 ,你可以自己為自己做點好吃的。當然,如果不會做你需要先學。那麽 ,現在我就給2025-04-03
Carlos Beltran made a very interesting hair choice
Apparently the Texas Rangers' Carlos Beltran is taking hair advice from another Carlos in sports --2025-04-03- 我們很多時候都想學習做飯,但是又不知道如何學習。小編在這裏給大家介紹一下學習方法和心得,其實自己首先要開始動手做一道菜,下麵介紹榨菜螺螄肉燉蛋的做法 ,先自己動手嚐試做一下 。1.1提前將螺螄肉用少許料酒2025-04-03
最新评论