Battery Swap Station for Electric Cars Unveiled

The endurance of electric cars is soon to receive a timely boost. One California company unveiled a solution — a prototype energy station that swaps electric vehicles' empty batteries for fully charged ones. The Better Place Company hopes such networks would replace existing conventional gas stations sometime in the near future.   [Yoav Heichal, Chief Engineer, Better Place]: "A switch station is actually a gas station for electric vehicles. But it's clean because you're using the energy from solar panels or a wind turbine. So you get a very clean solution because the energy is clean and the vehicle doesn't create any emission, so it's very friendly for the environment." The demonstration in Yokohama Japan used a Nissan electric car to highlight the automated process. The company says the system allows an electric vehicle to travel theoretically "unlimited distances" if it keeps swapping batteries. Much like with mobile phone contracts, customers simply choose the distance they want to travel. They subscribe to various monthly plans tailored to best suit their driving needs. Under the current business plan, the batteries will belong to the switching stations, not to the individual car owners. Potential markets include Israel, Denmark, the U.S. West Coast, Australia, Japan and the Canadian city of Ontario.

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News & Politics

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[ChorniyKot2]

Launch of BetterPlace European Center watch?v=bx7o7FbDOtQ&feature=re­lated

[bboucharde]

Looks like transportation for upper-middle-class and wealthy people in West LA and Hollywood. Meanwhile (in California) the state is going to make it financially impossible for most working- class people to own private cars, over the next ten years, via skyrocketing DMV fees, fuel taxes, AQ penalties, and assessments. You can bet your shoes on this---and you will need them if you are not high income in that absurd state!