Comments on: Tesla Battery Swap?

By: Bob_Wallace

Bob_Wallace — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 18:28:00 +0000

” One battery will get charged from same car’s movement of wheels ”

That’s thinking outside the reality box.

By: vel

vel — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 17:38:00 +0000

If Battery swapping is costlier than gas price based on Per Mileage basis then “FORGET IT”. I would suggest to invent a smaller battery with longer coverage (400 to 500 Miles radius) and shorter charging time around 5mins.

If possible, Car should accommodate 2 set of smaller batteries with longer coverage as a result of above innovation. One battery will get charged from same car’s movement of wheels (and / or) Solar panel while other battery is in use for Driving. This could prove the basic Physics concept of Energy is neither created nor destroyed but converted into another type of Energy.

THINK OUT of THE BOX Guys !!!

By: Ronald Brak

Ronald Brak — Thu, 23 May 2013 23:31:00 +0000

Interesting idea. But instead of coming with two batteries it has an empty space where one could be rapidly slotted in. This way one uses your own battery most of the time but you can use battery swapping on long trips or if you are unable to charge normally for some reason. But unlike Better Place it would have to be cheap enough for it to take off (or alternatively people will have to get rich enough to pay for the convenience).

By: Y Ev

Y Ev — Thu, 23 May 2013 18:23:00 +0000

batteryswapstations dot com and swapstations dot com reserved for Tesla?

By: Manpreet Singh

Manpreet Singh — Thu, 23 May 2013 13:24:00 +0000

another solution I have is the Wireless Charging Lane for EVs, where one can drive a little slow and charging their battery on the run, or may be can install nokia like wireless charging point through out the city on roads, street lights.

By: Bob_Wallace

Bob_Wallace — Thu, 23 May 2013 00:38:00 +0000

EV batteries are quite expensive. (At least for now.) If people had to pay for a second battery the sales rate for EVs would be approximately zero per year.

Could you do your daily driving with an EV with the range of a LEAF? If so, you could just plug in when you get out and walk toward your door. No standing around required. You could even install a wireless charger and do nothing but park in the same place at night.

Swapping is an option, but it didn’t catch on in Israel. In the lower right corner there’s a YouTube link that shows how easily/quickly their system does a battery swap.

http://www.betterplace.com/solution/charging/

By: Brian Wark

Brian Wark — Wed, 22 May 2013 23:57:00 +0000

Every EV should come with a secondary battery that is swappable. There should be a standard dimension. And for fun and consumer familiarity it should have the same shape as a AA battery, just much larger. You should be able to pull into a gas (oops) a battery station a door flips open on one side of my car and one or two are pushed (sucked) out and two new ones swapped in. I live in Canada and hate getting out to in the middle of winter freezing my arse off to pump gas.

By: Bob_Wallace

Bob_Wallace — Wed, 22 May 2013 19:39:00 +0000

It’s not clear that battery swapping is needed for taxis or (local) buses.

BYD has several hundred EVs in taxi service and they seem to be doing fine. They carry a lot more battery than does the LEAF and they work recharging into driver rest/meal breaks.

Their EVs have a 140 to 200 mile range, depending on driving conditions. One taxi has now driven over 150,000 miles on the original battery.

BYD is also bringing a battery powered but to the US market which has a 155 mile range.

Plus a bus it being tried out in Utah which grabs a quick charge during some of its passenger stops. With hybrid supercapacitor/battery packs a bus could take on a big hunk of electricity very quickly and transfer it to the batteries for more efficient storage. Then the SCs can be used to capture breaking energy on the way to the next charge point.

By: James Wimberley

James Wimberley — Wed, 22 May 2013 19:20:00 +0000

Renault/Nissan have already gone the battery leasing route. An obvious winner, as it deals with the technological risk issue. Upgrades become the car maker’s problem.
Battery swapping is critical for buses and taxis. Not Tesla’s target markets, but they are on other peoples’ radar.

By: Brian H

Brian H — Wed, 22 May 2013 18:00:00 +0000

About a year ago, his opinion was that no one had a “business model that works”. Infrastructure and inventory costs are killer. If he has found a way to finesse those, it may fly. Possibly high-C charging in the swap stations might “break the back” of the problem?

By: Bob_Wallace

Bob_Wallace — Wed, 22 May 2013 17:41:00 +0000

I really don’t understand the thinking here. We’re seeing developments in the labs that should give us EVs with 200 mile ranges with the same size/weight battery packs that now give us less than 100.

Prices are almost certainly nothing more than manufacturing scale issues. Sell more EVs, manufacture more batteries and the price will drop. Batteries and electric motors should become cheaper than internal combustion engines with all their needed systems. The price of a “Camry” EV should end up lower than the price of a “Camry” ICEV.

Batteries already take a 90% charge in less than 20 minutes. 200 mile range and that sort of charging lets you drive over 500 miles with only two modest stops. (Got to eat and pee anyway.)

Swapping batteries is fast. Better Place was doing it in 1:13 minutes. But the extracted batteries still have to be recharged before they can be swapped into the next EV. If the idea is to have a very large stock of overnight charged batteries then one has to consider the cost of all those spare battery packs.

The only time “savings” is that the driver spends a few minutes less at the “service station” and then stops somewhere else for the eating/peeing stuff.

By: Mofoman

Mofoman — Wed, 22 May 2013 15:49:00 +0000

Yes, I agree with you. It is a novel concept that will have many doubters but if anyone can pull it off it will be Musk. For a second also consider the fact that the battery pack is the most expensive component of the electric car, and as such there could also be a scenario where the price of the Model S is half what it is now at $40,000 and then you simply rent the battery packs from Tesla or other 3rd party who can profit from the lease payments and recycling and reusing the packs.

By: MightyDrunken

MightyDrunken — Wed, 22 May 2013 13:07:00 +0000

I think that battery swapping is certainly the best way if you consider the benefits.

The largest cost of an electric car is its battery. Rather than pay upfront for the battery, what about if you rent it? You get to spread the cost over time so it becomes more affordable, the money you save on fuel can go to pay the battery rent. If the battery becomes damaged or useless you won’t lose all your money, it could be replaced.

So if you do not own the battery you probably won’t mind it being swapped at the refilling station. You just recharged your electric car in a minute! Having the batteries managed in such a way may mean they can be easily repaired and upgraded too.