If you find yourself in Madrid, Spain, and are looking to drive an electric vehicle, a startup has a solution that renders battery charge speed almost irrelevant. Enter San Francisco-based startup Ample's battery-swapping technology.
The groundbreaking tech is being rolled out to a ride-share fleet of at least 100 Fiat 500e EVs and will allow for a full charge in just 5 minutes, as InsideEVs detailed. The development is the latest expansion of the partnership between Stellantis' mobility solutions company, Free2Move, and Ample that launched in December 2023.
According to a news release, the initial test fleet consisted of 40 cars, so the expansion to 100 vehicles is a meaningful sign that the program has been a success.
Ample isn't alone in battery-swapping tech, as Chinese competitors like NIO and CATL are aiming to make it a major part of infrastructure by the end of the decade.
Unlike its competitors, Ample is using a modular approach for its swappable battery packs that are approximately the size of a carry-on suitcase, per InsideEVs. That offers drivers flexibility in picking out how many module packs they'll need for a driving itinerary.
Ample also says its batteries could theoretically replace original EV batteries. That opens a host of possibilities for EV owners or prospective ones who might remain concerned about range anxiety and emergency scenarios.
It's worth pointing out that charging speed and range is continually getting better for modern EVs. Also, for EV drivers who can charge at home during the day or overnight, a battery swap might be an unnecessary expense.
For those EV owners, putting up solar panels is a great way to optimize an EV by using their own clean energy and eschewing the cost of a battery swap, the grid, or public charging. EnergySage can make accessing home-solar savings easy with free-to-use tools to compare quotes from vetted installers and save up to $10,000 on installation.
For the original use case of a car-sharing fleet, battery swapping fills a major niche. Instead of waiting on charging or looking for stations, drivers and fleet operators can keep it moving.
"For car-sharing fleets, every minute spent off the road is lost revenue," Ample CEO Khaled Hassounah said in the release. "This next phase of our partnership puts more swappable Fiat 500e vehicles on Madrid's streets and marks a meaningful step."
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