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Better Place Completes 1,000 Battery Swaps Without a Problem

 
753 views Jun 10, 2009

Better Place Battery Exchange System

Better Place Battery Exchange System

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The Better Place battery swapping system that we have previously covered here has now completed 1,000 battery swaps without any problems or complications.

Last week the company announced that its automatic battery swapping station has swapped out 1,000 batteries.  The entire system is designed to swap batteries from electric and possibly hybrid vehicles in short time and put drivers back on the road with freshly charged batteries.

So far, the robots, hydraulics, and computer systems that handle the fully automated swaps have stood up to the abuse of 1,000 swaps.

According to the Better Place vice president Jason Wolf, the swaps have been made without any associated problems.

The swapping unit appears durable enough at this point, but the costs of the units and the conversions required to the vehicles that would make the swaps possible are still major hurdles that must be overcome for success of the system.

Source:  Better Place





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Comments (3)

  1. By Blakem Posted: 6/10/2009 10:08am PDT

    Where is your reference that cost is a problem? BP has stated several times that the stations cost around $500,000 which is what they have been predicting for quite a while. There is no new technology here, auto makers use robots in manufacturing that perform far more complex tasks with high reliability and predictable costs. These stations are still less expensive than building a new petrol station and fewer numbers will be required since BP is installing tens of thousands of charging spots.
     
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  2. By Author Posted: 6/10/2009 10:47am PDT

    The cost reference has been noted by several sites. Its not the cost of the unit, its more or less who will cover the cost of the unit. The company, the city, private owners likes vending machines work. If the company was willing to cover all costs, these units would be everywhere already. The main problem though is the costs associated with producing cars with the structural strength to have the whole bottom of the vehicle removed without flexing or falling apart during the swap.
     
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  3. By Blakem Posted: 6/10/2009 3:54pm PDT

    O.k., cost may be an issue in the US, but I believe BP has enough money raised to build enough stations in Israel and Denmark to get started. Competing against fuel prices in Israel and Europe should give BP plenty of margin to cover the cost of swap and charge stations.
     
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