EV Battery Swaps: Now as Fast as Filling Your Tank – CNET [CNET]

Startup Ample’s new robotic swapping stations can change a battery in five minutes.

Startup Ample’s new robotic swapping stations can change a battery in five minutes.

One of the biggest pain points that comes with driving an electric vehicle is the time it takes to charge the battery. Startup Ample’s new technology can give drivers a full charge in about the same time it takes to fill a gas tank.

Ample’s model runs on the idea that the fastest charge is the one you never have to do. Its next-generation battery-swapping station can replace the battery on an electric vehicle in about five minutes. That’s half the time of Ample’s first-gen station. The new stations are also larger than their predecessors, now allowing for delivery trucks. CNET was given a demonstration of the new station at one of Ample’s San Francisco offices. Watch the video above to see how it works.

Battery swapping is not a new idea — 10 years ago this week, Tesla demonstrated its own battery-swapping system. But that technology ultimately came to nothing and EV makers have since focused on higher-powered, faster chargers instead.

Ample currently operates 12 first-generation swapping stations in the San Francisco Bay Area, mainly serving Uber delivery vehicles. The company expects to launch its next-generation station in the US, as well as Japan and Spain, later this year.