Battery Swapping for Electric Vehicles is Ideal but Hurdles Remain

In order to understand the concept of battery swapping, you must first understand the concept of electric drive vehicles. Electric drive vehicles have been around for more than 100 years, but are once again gaining popularity as environmentally conscience individuals try to find methods to reduce dependency on oil and gasoline.

An electric drive vehicle operates in the simplified manner listed below. An electric motor is attached to the wheels or transmission of the vehicle. The electric motor is powered by an on-board battery pack. The battery pack provides the needed power for the electric motors to move the wheels of the vehicle and thus propel the vehicle down the road. The electric vehicle is recharged through an electrical current which can be provided by numerous power sources, including solar, wind, water, coal and natural gas.

Now that an understanding of electric drive vehicles is established, let's turn to the shortcomings. Electric drive vehicles have a range which is limited mostly by their battery size. Large batteries can provide a couple hundred miles of range before a recharge is needed, but large batteries are costly and heavy. Smaller batteries provide about 100 miles of range.

In order to increase the range of an electric vehicle some companies have come up with several different ideas. The battery swapping idea is from a company called Better Place. Battery swapping works as follows: an electric vehicle pulls into a fully automated station. The station removes the depleted battery and exchanges it for a fully recharge battery. The entire process takes under 3 minutes and the driver head out on the road again. With a quick battery swap, electric vehicles could continue to travel for extended distances.

In theory, the idea works. Better Place has demonstrated a working battery swapping station. However their are major hurdles in the way. First, vehicles most be compatible with battery swapping. This means batteries must be located on the underside of the vehicle. Second, the battery swapping station will have to stock several of every type of electric vehicle battery. There is no standardization for battery size or type, therefore the station must have all batteries on hand. Finally, the station must stay current with all of the new electric vehicles produced. Keeping batteries in stock for all electric vehicles would almost certainly mean a warehouse sized swapping station.

Though the battery swapping technique could be extremely useful to extend the range of electric vehicles and to reduce range anxiety associated with electric vehicles, the hurdles in the way seem difficult to overcome. If Better Place overcomes the associated hurdles, they will be well positioned for the future of electric drive vehicles.

Source: Better Place