California based Better Solutions Inc. has demonstrated a new concept in electric car battery management – an automated battery switching station that promises an extended endurance, clean vehicle. Photo Credit: Video GrabMay 14, 2009, (Sawf News) - California based Better Solutions Inc. has demonstrated a new concept in electric car battery management – an automated battery switching station that promises an extended endurance, clean vehicle.
Electric car owners need not spend hours recharging their depleted car batteries; they can instead swap them with fully charged batteries. The automated switch process takes under a minute during which the driver remains in the vehicle.
The depleted batteries left at the service station are charged using renewable energy from solar arrays and wind farms.
At the invitation of the Japanese Ministry of Environment, the Palo Alto company demonstrated the concept on a modified Nissan electric crossover sport-utility vehicle in Yokohama, Japan..
This simple range extension technology is part of an overall solution that includes an open network of charge spots deployed where cars park.
The company proposes to saturate cities with battery-switching stations and also locate them on heavily traveled routes. EV owners could use charging stations based on subscription plans, like those for cell phones, or a pay-as-you-charge basis.
Initially the company plans to test market the concept in small sized markets. It’s already installing a network in Israel, and has raised $135 million to test market in Denmark and Hawaii,
Denmark and Israel have enacted policies, which create a tax differential between zero-emission vehicles and traditional cars.
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