MODULAR BATTERY SWAP

Welcome to modularswap.com!  This is a site dedicated to educating the driving public about a new, very compelling technology that will prove to be the better refueling solution for electric vehicles.

Recently we have been reminded of the high price we pay for our addiction to fossil fuels by the actions of dictators and autocrats, never mind the damage to our climate and our health! 

We need to break this addiction sooner, not later. Hope you can see how this technology will be instrumental in getting us there. 

Right now it seems that everybody in the EV space believes that charging stations can work to get us to 100% EV adoption. The simple fact, however, that nobody seems to mention is the large number of drivers without home or workplace charging.

Fast chargers will not solve this problem for them unless the whole process becomes extraordinarily expensive. The power delivery is just too massive This is the big, huge elephant in the room that modular battery swap will address.

BENEFITS USING MODULAR BATTERY SWAP:

1. REFUELING FASTER THAN GAS:   <1 MINUTE

2. WORKS FOR EVERYBODY : DCFC WILL NOT BE ADEQUATE FOR ALL DRIVERS

3. RECYCLING MUCH EASIER AND CHEAPER

4. RANGE ACTUALLY IMPROVES WITH TIME

5. LOWEST COST REFUELING :  1/2 THE COST OF DCFC  : 1/3 COST OF GAS

6. LOWER VEHICLE ENTRY COSTS :   AROUND $10,000 LOWER

7. VEHICLE LIFETIMES:   >1 MILLION MILES

8. STANDARDIZED MODULES = LOWEST BATTERY COSTS THROUGH COMPETITION

9. STANDARDIZED MODULES = MUCH FEWER SUPPLY CHAIN ISSUES THROUGH MULTIPLE SOURCING

10. ELIMINATES THE COSTLY, COMPLEX BATTERY COOLING SYSTEM

11. USING MODULES ALLOWS FOR EASY INTEGRATION INTO ANY VEHICLE DESIGN

12. REDUCES OR COMPLETELY ELIMINATES BATTERY FIRES

FOR MORE INFO GO TO:

https://www.instagram.com/modularswap/

https://ample.com/

Battery Swap in EVs: How Is This Not a Good Idea?

      As we move toward vehicle electrification, the prospect of refueling by means of exchanging the battery has come, gone, and is now back again, with companies like Nio and Ample taking the lead. One still hears comments like “How is this a good idea?” and any number of reasons why battery swap is doomed to fail. Accordingly, I’d like to address five different criticisms (in quotes heading each section) and make the case for why battery swap should be a significant part of the EV refueling infrastructure.

       Typically, many of us think that battery swap means exchanging that entire large battery pack, but instead, I’d like to make the case for breaking up that large battery into 15 to 20 small, individual modules and exchanging all or a portion of them. The good news is that this technology exists today and is proven. As the cell energy density marches towards 1,000 KWh/Kg, the weight of these modules decreases to 10 to 15 pounds each, and the module will be more like the size of a box of tissues. It should be clear that this paints a very compelling picture in favor of modular battery swap. The whole operation will be very simple, robust, and fast. So with that, I’d like to address these criticisms of battery swap in order for us to understand some subtle and not-so-subtle advantages of this technique.

…“But I want to own my battery”

       Actually, no, you don’t. There’s really no “babying” the battery, as you might have done with your Camaro engine with all its moving parts. Batteries are inherently measurable, and any wear (degradation) can be detected before installation with a simple phone app. But even better, since you won’t own the battery, you’ll participate in any improvements in the modules, such as quality and range. This means that as the inventory of battery modules improves with time, drivers will notice this improvement as opposed to observing degradation with a fixed battery pack. Yes, this does mean that a third party owns and leases these modules, although it’s certainly possible that drivers could own their own modules in some scenarios. What will be the real gamechanger for using swap and not owning the battery is that the entry cost for an EV would be around $10,000 less which would make EV’s less expensive than fossil fuel vehicles.

      It is anticipated that the lease price should actually be much lower than the typical cost of gasoline or fast charge, since the modules can be charged at a time and location that keeps this cost very low. We can envision the modules being charged near wind or solar farms or anywhere the electric rates may be quite low, especially when excess generation occurs. This ability to optimally charge will also substantially reduce the stress on the grid in neighborhoods and near charging stations. It would be much easier for module owners to recycle the module materials, and they would certainly be incentivized to do so.

…“Exchange stations will be very complex, costly, and subject to harsh environments”

       This is certainly not turning out to be the case with companies like Nio and Ample. But to be sure, as module size decreases, the cost and complexity of the stations will get much better. No high voltage and current service is needed, as in fast charge stations. In fact, the swap stations could be completely mobile and located where and when the market moves. Yes, there will be a requirement to build some excess inventory relative to the number of cars in service, but this excess should be less than the total number of cars, and this extra inventory at the exchange stations could even be deployed as grid storage, helping to offset the cost of the additional modules.

           A battery swap structure — taming the elements.

       Swap is accomplished today in harsh environments through the use of a lightweight covered structure. We would expect this to be a nice feature, and an advantage at any charging station. Actually, with regard to harsh environments, the swap station would have a significant advantage over fast charge stations at extreme temperatures. EV owners are typically aware that fast charge rates are throttled significantly at low and high temperatures to minimize battery degradation, and of course, this will not occur at swap stations. Also, it should be noted that because of higher throughputs and the ability to optimally relocate the swap stations, we simply won’t have to build as many swap stations as we would fast charge stations.

…“But I just charge at home”

       That may be fine for those who have a garage and a 240V outlet, but up to 50% of folks in the US live in apartments or homes without level 2 or even level 1 charging capability, and this number can be much higher in other countries. While modular swap may not be the only solution, it should be considered as part of the toolbox to get us to full EV adoption. Many people really like home charging, and this will still be possible for cars outfitted for battery swap. But charging at home comes with some risk of battery fire, and the attendant loss of both one’s car and home. These fires are rare, but when they do occur, the results are dramatic for the owner and are currently creating a bit of fear in some considering a move to EVs. Since most battery fires outside of a crash happen during charging, these consequences are avoided using battery swap.

...“Fast charge is the future, and that’s fine with me”

       Fast charge will always be quite a bit slower than refueling an ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicle or using swap, thanks to the laws of physics and chemistry. To achieve the fast charging rates they’re able to get today, the battery pack needs to be cooled during the charging process. This cooling adds cost, weight, and lowers the reliability of the battery pack—it is completely unnecessary when using battery swap. Discharge (driving) power is always much lower in an EV than the fast charge power (driving runs at 10X lower average power than fast charging), and the battery chemistry even favors discharge over charge during temperature extremes. Attempts to charge EVs in under 10 minutes are met with requirements for charger cables that get extremely heavy, and solutions for this, such as cooled cables and ultrahigh voltage charging, get expensive and bring about their own sets of problems.

Line-up at a fast charge station

         Removing the need for fast charge capability in battery cells will also give the cell designer much more latitude in trading off cycle life and power density for energy density, thus helping us get to the small cell size we’d like for battery swap. This may be critical in the development of Lithium-Sulfur cells and solid state batteries. Recent studies keep revealing that battery degradation increases with fast charging and worsens with elevated temperatures. The studied degradation may very well be within specified levels, but there will always be a few battery packs that fail outside these limits. Although these few failures can be remedied, any anecdotal news of battery degradation gives potential EV buyers pause in their quest for EV adoption . . . and we’re back to the “ICE devil we know.”

         SOH = state of health  DCFC = dc fast charge

...“But auto companies won’t standardize the battery and want to control that profit center”

       True that! This may be the biggest hurdle the advocates of battery swap have to face. But just because this may be the principal reason why swap stays out of the mainstream doesn’t make it a good reason. Standardization generally is beneficial for the consumer and not always such a lucrative path for the big corporations. The advantages of small, standardized modules should be obvious—having worked on developing large EV battery packs, I see the standardized module as much more manageable and more conducive to technological innovation. This will lead to more competition and, ultimately, lower costs. It may very well be the case that free-market forces can work to make modular battery swap one of the solutions to EV refueling. When your neighbor starts boasting about the cost savings and convenience, along with not having to worry about their house burning down, this idea could gain some real traction.

       We find ourselves in some very challenging times, and the need for vehicle electrification is urgent. We should be open to all good solutions, so a modular battery swap solution can work and should be in the mix.