I have been waiting for the following video, with baited breath, for the past few weeks.
Unfortunately, I don't have time to do this topic justice.
Recently in Japan, a company called Better Place set up a demo of their battery swap station concept, a carwash-like structure that removes a depleted batter from an electric car and inserts a fully charged battery, all in less time than it takes to fill any gasoline car's tank.
This is the future of cars, if we'll have it.
American car makers are struggling to make fuel efficient cars, and one of the biggest challenges they face is the fact that battery technology is not advanced enough to make a single battery that can 1) power a car for 200+ miles, 2) charge quickly. The can continues to be kicked down the road because of this limitation.
But the battery is just a receptacle, why can't it be modular? And, in actual day to day use, the vast majority of a car's time is spent in park. If you charge it during those moments- at home, work, the mall- you'll have a fully charged car 95% of the time (this number is figurative).
This is just an intro, and I'm not the man to sell it. Fortunately, Better Place's CEO Shai Agassi is a very good speaker. The swap station video is last but I want everyone to get the concept first, especially to hear how thoroughly complete the entire concept is:
- If you have 25 minutes to spare:
- Or here's a 45-minute podcast via On Point (one of my go-to radio shows).
Last, but not least:
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