Power Swap is now a part of AutoEnergy, for more information click here.

General

Media constantly reports about new sales records and relative sales increases for electric vehicles, which gives the impression that an electrification is just around the corner. However, the actual numbers does not substantiate this. Electric vehicles have many obstacles to overcome before a full scale adoption can be acquired. As long as these obstacles remain there will always be people who choose fossil vehicles. In Sweden, only 0.6% of all cars are pure battery electric cars! A new radical solution, that is not based on charging poles, is required to achieve our climate goals.

This is not true. One might expect that advancements in charging technology will reduce charging times to zero but this contradicts the laws of physics. Charging will always require time. In addition – as charging times decrease (higher power output), stress on the grids increase. This is an accelerating problem and the grids are already reaching their limits. This is at a time when electric cars constitute only a fraction of one percent of the total car park (0,6 % in Sweden).

The cost for battery swap functionality is around €0,15 per 10 km.

You start by slowly approaching the swap unit, and opening your Power Swap app. Stop when you see the red light. The cloud based system will connect to the app, where you will be able to initiate and monitor the entire procedure. The machine’s optical search system thereafter identifies the battery hatch, extracts the discharged battery and places it in the battery storage, where it is charged. Simultaneously, the system transports a new, fully charged battery to the swap unit, which then feeds it into the car. When the hatch has closed, and once the payment is complete in the app, a green light will signal that you are ready to drive away. A summary of the swap is presented in the app, and a receipt is sent.

Don’t worry about that! The Power Swap system allows for a lot of flexibility. It ensures access to the latest battery technology, while removing batteries that are deemed too old or unusable. Further, the driver leases the battery and pays only for the kWh difference at each swap.

Yes, but never like this … Power Swap outperforms all available solutions, delivering a new state-of-the-art to the market. Our unique solution is based on a compact, mechanical unit that requires only 12 m2, instead of building-like swap stations which require up to 200 m2. Also, it swaps the EV batteries from the side of the EV instead of from underneath, reducing the complexity and eliminating the need for cleaning the feeder. A Power Swap unit costs below €200.000 and can be installed at existing petrol stations or in other public areas. Previous attempts have orbited around stations that cost around €1.4M each, and require human supervision on site.

With Power Swap electric cars can be sold without batteries and instead leased.This will reduce the purchase cost with up to 30%.

The driver can then choose to pick up one or two batteries depending on his or her need.

Yes – Power Swap provides an automatic charging solution for autonomous cars. 

Infrastructure

People prefer low prices and flexible driving patterns – this is not something that an expansion of charging infrastructure will turn around single-handedly. Only 0,6% of all cars in Sweden are completely electric. And Sweden is in the forefront. Drastic measures are required if electric cars are to constitute 15% of all cars in the EU within ten years. In order to reach that point, we need to transform the core of the infrastructure.

Not everyone has the option to charge at home. In Sweden, about half of all families live in multi-family homes in urban areas. In South Korea, more than 90% live in high-rise buildings. We do not want to replace charging at home, but rather create an alternative for those who do not have that opportunity – enabling longer journeys at the same time. We also provide uninterrupted e-mobility for fleet operators who want to adopt electric vehicles into their business activities but can’t, due to unreasonable and prohibiting charging conditions.

Power Swap units can be flexibly installed at existing gas stations or parking lots. By taking advantage of already existing infrastructure, an expansion of battery swap units can be established faster and at a fraction of the cost.

As the batteries are replaced from the vehicle – more time can be used for charging in the battery storage and less power is needed at the location. The charging can also be prioritized at off-peak times further reducing peak loads. This will help reduce the grid stress significantly compared to an infrastructure based on fast chargers.

It is also possible to integrate renewable energy sources such as solar or wind power to reduce the dependency of grid power.

Studies suggest that it would only require about 3% extra batteries in circulation.