Battery Swapping Revisited

[patmurphey]

While battery production is the main limiting factor in EV production, we need a system that requires multiple spare batteries sitting around??? In addition to battery standardization, battery management and cooling systems have to be standardized, impeding innovation. Battery management is tied to cell chemistry and cell design. Standardization will delay battery design progress. Without the burden of innovation having to conform to existing "standard" cars, new designs can flourish because they can abandon the previously sold models. I hope the idea dies a natural death.

 

[Krash]

…I hope the idea dies a natural death.

So you don’t think we should standardize on the old air cooled Leaf design?

Seriously though, do the removable batteries have integrated cooling? Cooling outside of the packs? No cooling?

 

[patmurphey]

They would have to connect to the cars cooling system somehow. I suppose the only way to mitigate any potential leaks would pressing against a cooling plate in the car on top of the pack. There are just too many issues to standardize across the industry.

 

[Krash]

They would have to connect to the cars cooling system somehow. I suppose the only way to mitigate any potential leaks would pressing against a cooling plate in the car on top of the pack. There are just too many issues to standardize across the industry.

To quote Glum from the 80s animated Gulliver’s Travels, “we’ll never make it”

 

[Anothergeek]

Battery swapping OEMs like NIO and Geely hope to work together with car makers on this.
Ample says it can produce a battery that can be easily modified into various sizes.
IMO, it only works if battery swapping could be as easy and 'fluid' as filling up.
But then you have to use a standard battery, like if it's a module.

1 for a tiny EV
3 for SUV type electric cars

Never going to happen (here, anyways)

You can’t overcome the “getting someone else’s tired or perhaps damaged battery” issue.

Tesla looked at it, found it was not viable if you own the car.

I don’t know any BEV owner, of any brand, that would accept it.

 

[daktari]

Flexibility is a key word with "battery as a service" as Nio calls it.
Price in Norway for an ES8 is 550.000,- NOK. That is the same price as a Model 3 LR.

Then, the battery is paid for monthly.
100 kWh for 2000,- NOK a month
75 kWh for 1400,- a month
150 kWh yo be released in 2023.
2 free swaps included, more can be paid for. They exit the swap station with around 80% soc.

No binding, change the battery size pr month - small one for commuting saves money, big one for a road trip.

One can also buy the battery:
160k NOK for the big one
90k for the smaller one.

We shall see how popular it gets in the end. You will never end up with an old, out of warranty, charge-limited battery.

 

[SO16]

3 year old video. As pointed early in this thread things have changed.

Battery swaps could be interesting in this scenario. I wonder how they would get hundreds of extra batteries pre-positioned to remote locations for a swap on surge for a few hours (Wed evening and Sunday afternoon) on Thanksgiving weekend as shown on the video. Trucking them in would be expensive. And what do they do with all those batteries on "normal" days? EV charging or swapping have lots of operational issues to deal with sharp, short duration demand surges.

I don’t see how a swap station would help with this high traffic area if swap throughput is one or two vehicles at a time. Sure, the first few in line would get through quickly but people farther down the line will take longer. 5-7 min per vehicle adds up quick when you have 10 people in line. I’d rather have more charging stalls. Cheaper to maintain and build too.

 

[thesmokingman]

I see this like swapping portable propane tanks for home BBQ grills, where, the first time, you swap your "almost brand new, cared for" propane tank for some "beat up old dented" tank at the grocery store or something, then never have a "brand new" one again.

This may interest some people, but certainly not me, I would never (ever ever ever ever ever) do something like this, even if it was offered. I take care of my stuff better than that, and do not see a situation where a battery swap would be preferable to fast charging.

Yea, I concur. Battery swapping would only make sense once battery production and manufacturing advanced so far that it becomes a commodity with quality and consistency reaching a high bar. Swapping is also counter to Tesla's philosophy, battery values, and Tesla's structural design directions.

 

[DanCar]

Battery swap in 1943:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1563692773617942528

20 second mark is actual swap.