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- Many drivers say long electric vehicle charge time is a barrier to them adopting the cars.
- Startup Ample says battery swapping could be faster than filling your car up with gas.
- See how Ample’s next-gen station could ‘charge’ your EV with a simple, automated swap.
Battery swapping — taking an electric vehicle battery out of the car once it’s out of charge, and replacing it with a fully charged battery — isn’t a brand new concept, and has had a challenging journey over the past several years. But the idea of getting your electric car a full “charge” in just a matter of minutes has gotten swapping some more recent momentum.
Charging an electric car can take a while, depending on the type of charger a driver uses. In your own garage with a standard plug, or maybe at your office, it might take 8 hours. At faster plugs out in public, you might be waiting at least 20 minutes with a Level 3 charger, or maybe an hour or two with a Level 2.
Regardless, it’s no question that charging currently takes a little bit longer than fueling up a gas-powered car at a gas station.
That’s where battery swapping could come into play, and startup Ample is eager to get automakers on board with the idea. It’d essentially mean a driver buys an electric vehicle but subscribes to the battery, Ample CEO Khaled Hassounah told Insider.
The upfront cost of a new EV (relatively high, on average) could be brought down if a buyer only has to pay for the vehicle itself, and not the pricey battery.
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