One of the main concerns for electric vehicle enthusiasts who are still hesitant to make the switch is the charging time. Sure, it’s possible to plan ahead and charge your car while at work or doing groceries, but that’s not always an option—and it’s when you’re caught off guard that it becomes frustrating.
Charging times have improved significantly in recent years, but we’re still far from the speed of filling up a gas tank. While a universal solution to this issue has yet to be found, several automakers are working on interesting concepts—like Stellantis with the Fiat 500e.
A Clever Partnership
Stellantis has partnered with Ample, a company that specializes in fast energy delivery solutions. The joint project between the two companies aims to offer a technology that allows the Fiat 500e’s battery to be swapped in just five minutes. So instead of plugging in the car, you simply replace the battery—similar to what we do with power tools—and you’re ready to go.
The group decided to launch this project through its Free2Move car-sharing service. It makes perfect sense when you think about it, since many users don’t have a home charging station. Being able to bring the car to a designated space and replace the battery in just a few minutes makes the experience far more convenient.
To make it all work, Ample has set up stations where Free2Move users can go to have their vehicle’s battery automatically swapped. As for the removed battery, it is simply recharged and reused later.
The question now is whether Ample’s stations will be able to keep enough batteries in inventory to meet demand. But that’s something to assess down the road, as Stellantis and Ample plan to put around 100 units into circulation for now—which should be relatively easy to manage. Still, I believe there’s real large-scale potential for this kind of technology. Who knows, maybe we’ll soon see these battery swap stations popping up at gas stations everywhere.
Jean-Sébastien Poudrier
