There is a phenomenon which might have been noticed by any astute observers of technological development over the last thirty or so years. At the beginning of this time, the term rechargeable battery was a powerful thing to slap on any battery product, denoting something very cutting edge as, indeed, rechargeable battery products were at that time. That recharging technology has been developed at an incredible rate over the intervening period, and rechargeable battery technology is today so powerful that it can adequately replace the gas engine in a vehicle! And yet, what the more seasoned among us may well have noticed is that the term “rechargeable” is becoming more and more redundant.
Today, almost all battery technologies involve rechargeable batteries. For sure, some of the old non-rechargeable battery systems remain. These are most commonly household 9V, AA or AAA batteries, but even here rechargeable alternatives are becoming ever more popular. Consider the Type B USB rechargeable smart batteries produced by tech company Pale Blue Earth as an example.
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The Final Obstacle – Charging Itself
It’s surely amazing how far batteries, of all kinds, have come in terms of charge capacity, charge cycle time, and longevity. Nevertheless, there could be one final frontier to be smashed – the elimination of charging altogether.
Or to put it more precisely, the elimination of charging times. Everlasting batteries are certainly something which a lot of research is currently invested in, but we are not quite there yet. But there is another technology – or rather, practice – that could soon eliminate the need to charge batteries altogether.
The practice exists within the realm of electric vehicles (no surprise, considering the amount of investment here) and is known as battery swapping. Electric car manufacturers improve their batteries all the time (with recent models lasting considerably longer than even those from five years ago) but the EV user still needs to charge them up – and this still takes longer than it takes to fill up on gas.
What is Battery Swapping?
Battery swapping refers to an infrastructure of battery swapping stations where drivers would be able to mechanically swap out depleted batteries for freshly charged ones, allowing the depleted battery to then be charged at the station. But hold on a minute, can you remove the battery of an electric vehicle? And aren’t those batteries massive?
The answer to both of those questions is yes. Indeed, battery swapping is in its infancy and the majority of EV drivers today still need to endure the waiting times to charge up their vehicles. The technology does exist to create swappable batteries for cars, and the infrastructure to support this is currently being trialed in India.
Challenges Faced by Battery Swapping
Given that no more charge waiting times is the most obvious benefit, it’s worth looking at the challenges faced by battery swapping to get an idea of its feasibility:
Large Fixed Costs
Primarily, the creation of battery swap stations is where the costs lie. The adaption of modern vehicles to that infrastructure is easier – but that infrastructure would be very expensive.
Competition from Fast-Charging Technology
Certain companies are already trialing charging options which can charge an EV in fifteen minutes. If this time gets any lower, the need for the battery swapping could simply vanish.
Standardization of Batteries Would be Essential
Those swapping stations are expensive enough – they would be prohibitively so if they had to service a range of different battery types. For battery swapping to be feasible, car batteries would have to become standardized.
So concludes this brief dispatch from the frontlines of battery technology. Battery swapping is a potentially revolutionary service, but one which faces serious challenges.
