An electric vehicle has a limited range and therefore needs to be recharged with some regularity. Especially for longer trips, this can be a disadvantage, as battery charging in electric vehicles usually takes considerably longer than refuelling a traditional internal combustion engine vehicle. A system from the Swedish company Power Swap can offer a solution.
Power Swap is a Swedish start-up that recently completed a crowdfunding campaign and is supported by the Swedish Energy Agency, part of Sweden's Ministry of Environment and Energy. The company is working on a system that can fully automatically replace an electric vehicle's flat battery for a full one. For this, the vehicle is parked next to a Power Swap station, after which a robot reaches under the vehicle from the side and removes the empty battery from the vehicle. A full battery is then placed back into the vehicle, allowing the driver to continue driving immediately.
Battery replaced in two minutes
The company says a battery can be replaced with a full one within two minutes. This is shorter than the time it takes to fill up the fuel tank of an internal combustion engine car. Power Swap plans to offer the batteries through a lease structure, which the start-up says means that manufacturers can start supplying electric vehicles without batteries. Since the battery in an electric vehicle is one of the biggest cost items, this will allow electric vehicles to be produced more cheaply. Power Swap expects that this could make the purchase price of electric vehicles lower than combustion engine cars.
The empty battery is then charged at a special charging station. The batteries are charged in this station over a longer period to reduce the load on the electricity network. The Power Swap stations can be placed directly on the ground and do not require any special infrastructure besides the power supply. For example, the stations can be placed in car parks or at petrol stations.
Limited installation costs
According to Power Swap, the installation costs are limited, although the company does not mention concrete amounts. The Swedish start-up points out that a Power Swap station can serve many customers in a relatively short time, whereas electric vehicles need to be connected to a charging station for a longer time. As a result, significantly more charging stations are needed to charge the same amount of electric vehicles. The start-up argues that building an infrastructure with Power Swap stations at an existing petrol station or car park is therefore cheaper than installing thousands of charging poles.
The Power Swap system is still under development. The company says it is initially working on a demonstration system, which can be used to convince battery manufacturers and car makers of the system. Next, the company wants to start building a small-scale infrastructure with Power Swap systems, for example in its home country Sweden. In this phase, the start-up says it wants to place five to 10 systems in a few large cities, plus another 10 systems between these cities. This infrastructure can then be expanded over time.
Support from Swedish Energy Agency
The company has already signed a deal with Swedish electric vehicle manufacturer ECar, which is working on the world's first car model compatible with the Power Swap system. As part of a pilot project, the first example of this model is currently being produced.
Author: Wouter Hoeffnagel
Source: Power Swap (pictured)
