CNET
Robotic Drive-Thru Swaps EV Batteries in 5 Minutes
Startup Ample introduces its new robotic swapping station that can change an electric vehicle’s battery in five minutes. Read the CNET Article for more information: EV Battery Swaps: Now as Fast as Filling Your Tank 0:00 Intro 0:50 Swapping Station Drive through 1:58 How Ample swaps an EV battery in 5 minutes 2:30 How Ample…
SequoiaElisabeth
June 25, 2023 at 10:28 am
I really don’t see this catching on. Maybe for fleet cars, taxis, and delivery.
Rich
June 25, 2023 at 10:40 am
Please this has to be the future doesn’t it?
SS S
June 25, 2023 at 11:22 am
Unlikely that manufacturers will adopt a standard battery configuration or warranty swapped in batteries. Seems fine for delivery trucks and similar commercial applications.
dusty
June 25, 2023 at 11:28 am
As smart as renting extra batteries for long trips
Jim McPartland
June 25, 2023 at 11:30 am
What’s it cost to swap our a battery, and what does it cost to get a territory for these?
swinglow33
June 25, 2023 at 12:00 pm
I don’t see this as an alternate way to get a full charge. Rather a solution to replace the battery somewhere between when it loses a percentage of its full capacity to when the battery’s warranty expires.
s pharr
June 25, 2023 at 12:05 pm
Not viable or scalable for most of the country
jigil jigil
June 25, 2023 at 12:14 pm
Tesla came up with the concept, Chinese thought that is revolutionary so have invested in it, and most EV owners don’t like the idea.
Kacey Green
June 25, 2023 at 4:48 pm
Better Place, Tesla, Nio, I wonder what it will take to make this concept commercially viable
Louie Tran
June 25, 2023 at 12:15 pm
I thought that was Linus until I heard his voice
Ojas Hardikar
June 25, 2023 at 1:26 pm
Why does the host look like Linus Sebastian
Shane W
June 25, 2023 at 1:38 pm
Garbage to many variables.
Dick Riggles
June 25, 2023 at 1:50 pm
Stop trying to make electric cars happen. It’s not going to happen. This is silly virtue signaling. A freaking waste of time and resources. Pathetic. Yuppies are sad.
Michael Vella
June 25, 2023 at 2:38 pm
Better to invent a battery that lasts longer
Seanieeboii
June 25, 2023 at 2:43 pm
NIO did it first.
Gregory Oatmeal
June 25, 2023 at 4:39 pm
What people really don’t appreciate about this technology is that the utilities can create incentives to charge these batteries when renewable energy production exceeds the demand from the grid. This will make it easier for utilities to invest in renewables and maintain grid stability.
Gerydome
June 25, 2023 at 4:51 pm
What Linus does here?
GetTheFOutOfMyWay
June 25, 2023 at 5:33 pm
So getting out of the Tesla like world and getting to actual reality 1. I guess everyone is assuming that in no way ever a driver will damage a battery driving around? 2. Doesn’t creating all those batteries kind negate being “green”? 3. We have the raw materials to do something in mass quantities like this? 4. I’m assuming they’re cheap if you’re planning to have them transferred out so often?
:D
June 25, 2023 at 5:58 pm
Is it safe? I want to see more and how exactly it is happening?
Mitchell Barber
June 25, 2023 at 6:32 pm
Nio has already done this at scale.
Dave Yam
June 25, 2023 at 7:50 pm
While Nio has already built 1500 swapping stations worldwide..
Bob Nomura
June 25, 2023 at 8:14 pm
Good idea, BUT the car has to be built with that feature in the first place. Tesla is definitely out because their batteries are a part of the chassis structure, and you only mentioned ONE car maker who may or may not re-engineer their cars to gave that feature.
Amir Moradi
June 25, 2023 at 8:26 pm
Seems kinda pointless since we are now getting EVs that can charge to 80% in 15 minutes. It might be worth it for fleet cars like autonomous taxis.
misterfazio
June 25, 2023 at 8:42 pm
I do not think the “last min delivery start up, Sally” is what is shown…which is sally beauty…..a public beauty supply store.
prince mehta
June 25, 2023 at 9:27 pm
only regulation with standardized batteries in all company cars can be done
keon
June 25, 2023 at 9:35 pm
Once solar cars come this will be outdated
Puyopuyodreamin
June 25, 2023 at 10:17 pm
Three day set up time is shocking. How much resources & manpower are saved over building a gas station? Cheers
alicia wang
June 25, 2023 at 10:44 pm
This is great! But I don’t think that people will replace their car battery with this one
crazybeartimba
June 25, 2023 at 11:16 pm
If you don’t have time to wait 30min, you must be insanely rich to the point that you are losing thousands every time you take dump.
Jerick R
June 26, 2023 at 2:14 am
This would make sense as an add-on to an existing car’s primary battery unit, like in the trunk. I just don’t see how every EV maker will want to give away their power, no pun intended.
luedriver
June 26, 2023 at 3:04 am
the fact that swapping batteries for used ones will always raise concerns, let alone the cost
Frostilver
June 26, 2023 at 3:22 am
*Too many points of failure, wearing out the battery connectors*
Brandon G
June 26, 2023 at 6:43 am
Yes I agree, too many moving parts involved each with a point of failure. Not to mention weather involved such as rain, snow, mud, sand and ice which could get caught/stuck or corrode connectors as you mentioned.
Jyoti Madhusmita
June 26, 2023 at 3:53 am
Ev is Best
Steve Walsh-Balshaw
June 26, 2023 at 9:03 am
Unfortunately there won’t be a “standard ” battery because as with everything it’ll be a money making venture these ev’s are no greener than ice when factoring in build mining etc. It’s the equivalent of a 4 wheel mobile phone all hype to make money.
Jermaine Smith
June 26, 2023 at 9:32 am
Great concept but…. What if someone has a battery with 10% or mor degradation, do they then get a new battery ? The idea is sound but the details are important
Terry Texas
June 26, 2023 at 10:05 am
Here’s the major issue that the car manufacturer has to get around. Initial price of the battery to the consumer. As a consumer, I would be paying for a brand new battery, but upon the first battery swap, I could be getting a battery that is years old or may already be developing a defect. And if the battery is defective, does that effect the warranty of the car? If car manufacturers plan on this type of battery swapping tech, then there is no way they could incorporate the price of the batteries into the overall cost of the car, but somehow I think they would try. If you think the fine print of a car agreement is long now, just wait until this tech is included in that agreement.
Neutrality Imformer
June 26, 2023 at 10:22 am
This is the place will put anyone to a horrible place of emergency of fire on cars
James Barrett
June 26, 2023 at 10:52 am
Does this work on Teslas? If so, love to this in Australian cities and regional areas especially SouthEast Queensland where more and more EVs are on the roads these days.
L.
June 26, 2023 at 11:32 am
Sorry but we have this system up and running in Germany. The company is called NIO.
George H
June 26, 2023 at 11:51 am
How much does a swap cost? Tesla tried to do this early on, but the cost was very high.
Steve
June 26, 2023 at 12:07 pm
Boom
Steve
June 26, 2023 at 12:08 pm
Just wait till you drive up, and there is no batteries
curio
June 26, 2023 at 12:09 pm
So.. how does the battery temperature control work with this? Any battery thats not kept at the optimal temperature degrades.
Wen Huang
June 26, 2023 at 12:54 pm
It will comes down to the prices if it cost more than fill up your gas tank! Then, forget it!
Brian Foulds
June 26, 2023 at 12:59 pm
Only good for fleets will to invest in this startup’s batteries.
Meow Chat
June 26, 2023 at 4:25 pm
This is a joke, CNET is full of 🐂💩
Cerise M
June 26, 2023 at 6:14 pm
I’m pretty sure this is going to fail in the future. Due to costs of the battery, but also the very high possibility of manufacturers making it difficult to replace batteries (different battery designs/shapes, different locations and so on). Requiring the driver to go to their local dealership to replace.
JMC Pro Tech
June 26, 2023 at 6:14 pm
❤ it’s a about Time it Happens
spacegreycoralred
June 27, 2023 at 1:32 am
So you bring in your 2012 Nissan leaf with a 50% degraded battery, and get a new battery? NICE!
Bruce Goren
June 27, 2023 at 3:03 am
Good idea for fleets but not retail consumers. I would worry that my brand new OEM battery pack was being swapped out for a much older Ample pack with reduced range, albeit fully charged.
Junior Padilla
June 27, 2023 at 3:15 am
Phoenix AZ add here please 🙏
Sven Boesen
June 27, 2023 at 6:53 am
This was solved by “Better Place” 10 years ago. Have they solved what got them bankrupt?
Jeff Coleman
June 27, 2023 at 10:16 am
I see big issues here… batteries have a “Cycle” life as in how many times you can discharge/charge them. Someone can bring their 34 month old battery in, get a newer one for the cost of a charge yet their battery is close to the recommended 3 year swap out point..
What would be more ideal is having this be a super fast and sealed charging station where your battery is removed from car, moved to a sealed protected and chilled charging area, rapid charged, then put back into the car. Even if it took 15 minutes which would be WAY fast for the car it would be acceptable..
Course what places like hotels and parking garages should do is set up robotic parking of charged cars. Person parks, gives the spot # and says I need to charge the car. a robotic attendant (or even a human one – job creation?) moves the car to a charging station and plugs it in and while it is charging, moves a charged car in the next slot (have 4-6 charging stations to a parking spot and text the owner that its charged and returned to its spot.
Miguel Rodriguez
June 27, 2023 at 3:02 pm
Nio is at the forefront of this. Get your facts straight. Nio just needs 3 minutes!
NYtmr 🗽
June 27, 2023 at 4:43 pm
🧂🧂
William Diaz
June 27, 2023 at 5:04 pm
Combine this with a few electric charging stations at the same site and you got a WIN and NO REASON to think that EV cars aren’t the wave of the future.
Mi Box
June 27, 2023 at 5:38 pm
I love the idea, but it will never go mainstream especially if the battery is a structural component to the frame plus almost every ev has a unique battery container or has some kind of metal shielding for the battery .
Mbak Tari
June 27, 2023 at 7:15 pm
If this the way we charge EV……I AM IN !!!!!!!
NOT FAN with the way EV CHARGING now…….too long !!!! TIME IS MONEY.
I need AAA PLEASE……SORRY D instead.
TheoTheLeo
June 27, 2023 at 7:16 pm
They neglected to include the costs. What are the costs of retrofitting a car with Ample’s equipment, and the cost of swapping? Also, what are their batterie’s kWh? And finally, it’s unlikely you’ll be the only person in line, so it’ll take longer than 5 minutes. I saw a video about a customer at one of Nio’s battery swapping facilities. It took him more than 30 minutes due to the backlog of cars.
Talun Chiou
June 27, 2023 at 7:52 pm
work for any EV? most of the EV batteries have coolant line, you can’t just yank it out !
No Name
June 27, 2023 at 8:27 pm
Great idea. If customers don’t own their battery, that brings the cost of owning EVs down. Also, maybe provide a fully charged swappable battery as a monthly or yearly subscription?!
Shai Agassi promoted this long time ago!
Jane Dough
June 28, 2023 at 5:24 am
Dude this is what I’ve been saying for years. We need battery standardization. Then you can have battery hot swap stations
Phat Meow
June 28, 2023 at 11:56 am
we now know that the bigger issue is replacing billions of ICE with BEVs is simply unsustainable and possibly would cause an ecological disaster that could dwarf the one caused by plastics..
Native2458
June 28, 2023 at 3:32 pm
You listening Elon?
V H
June 28, 2023 at 5:13 pm
This doesn’t account for battery degradation. If I have brand new battery why would I want to receive a battery that’s been on the road for 3 years simply because it’s been fully charged
ProDanTech
June 28, 2023 at 7:03 pm
How about 5 minutes at a Tesla 250 kWh charger? That’s generally all I need. Not a full charge, but if you’re in a hurry, this is likely good enough. Charging will get better and better. This swapping tech isn’t needed.
Eagle Century
June 28, 2023 at 7:14 pm
CNET pretending NIO doesn’t exist.
Tim ower
June 28, 2023 at 7:24 pm
Solving a problem that does not exist.
Jules Vo
June 28, 2023 at 8:47 pm
It’s great