> IMO, the whole idea of electric vehicles is a waste of time unless the government (or at least a dominant market player) steps in and standardizes battery sizes for fast replacement at existing service stations. It should take less time to recharge an EV than it does to refill a gasoline tank, not more.
Oh, come on. First World Problem: "My new pollution free cars fills at home, but on the few occasions that I have to go out of my way for energy it takes 10 minutes to refuel instead of 2."
You're ignoring the substantial problems that battery swapping introduces – it introduces issues of standardization, compatibility between cars, more moving parts, more weight, additional vehicle design constraints, and creates enormous inertia in battery technology. It constrains innovation. No company can come out with "The 2021 Leaf, now with 15% denser batteries!" without fragmenting the shared supply of battery packs.
I admire Shai Agassi's business model, everyone seems to be fixating on the battery swapping aspect. It's incidental. The real innovation there is using the cell-phone business model on electric cars.
Imho, an alternative solution with fewer drawbacks would be offering "on-shore" cooling by exchanging a fluid coolant through the charge connector. The charge-rate constraint isn't really the batteries, it's how fast you can cool the batteries. With offboard cooling you could charge a ~300 mile range EV in about 3 minutes without over-sized onboard cooling. You're also more likely to find a use for the waste heat offboard, e.g. melting ice or preheating water.
The down-sides of this system are small – any sufficiently high-current "cable" would already be mounted on a "weightless" articulation rig, or a robotic solution that plugs in automatically when you park (Shai Agassi has been working on this technology).
Oh, come on. First World Problem: "My new pollution free cars fills at home, but on the few occasions that I have to go out of my way for energy it takes 10 minutes to refuel instead of 2."
You're ignoring the substantial problems that battery swapping introduces – it introduces issues of standardization, compatibility between cars, more moving parts, more weight, additional vehicle design constraints, and creates enormous inertia in battery technology. It constrains innovation. No company can come out with "The 2021 Leaf, now with 15% denser batteries!" without fragmenting the shared supply of battery packs.
I admire Shai Agassi's business model, everyone seems to be fixating on the battery swapping aspect. It's incidental. The real innovation there is using the cell-phone business model on electric cars.
Imho, an alternative solution with fewer drawbacks would be offering "on-shore" cooling by exchanging a fluid coolant through the charge connector. The charge-rate constraint isn't really the batteries, it's how fast you can cool the batteries. With offboard cooling you could charge a ~300 mile range EV in about 3 minutes without over-sized onboard cooling. You're also more likely to find a use for the waste heat offboard, e.g. melting ice or preheating water.
The down-sides of this system are small – any sufficiently high-current "cable" would already be mounted on a "weightless" articulation rig, or a robotic solution that plugs in automatically when you park (Shai Agassi has been working on this technology).