Let’s say the infrastructure is there for this, and you don’t have to purchase the battery with a new EV…you just purchase a battery plan for like 100$ a month. It’d easily cut 10-20k off the cost of an EV up front.
Plus, quick charging isn’t quick. At best you’re looking at a 20 minute stop, and you’re praying a stall is open when you get there. This could solve that problem as well.
It’s an interesting idea.
Especially living in a city, this looks interesting to me. ‘Fast’ charging I’ve seen was in the range 30-60 min but then it’s like the phone, from about 20% up to 80%. So living in a city, I’d have to wait for half an hour for half the battery.
With a swap-station, it could be nearly as fast as a fossil fuel stop. About 2 minutes for a 0% to 100% stop.
This also allows for smaller batteries, for smaller cars, for lighter cars. You don’t need to carry a lot of overall range if you can swap/refill to 100% in 2 minutes.
