Will a predictable, gas station-like experience to get a fully charged car convince more last-mile delivery companies to switch to electric?
That’s the proposal from California-based Ample, which now says it can fully charge an electric truck in five minutes, thanks to a second-generation battery swapping system revealed in May.
On Tuesday, Ample took its technology into a new field with the announcement of a partnership with Mitsubishi Fuso, the Daimler Trucks unit. Next winter, the companies plan to offer versions of the Fuso eCanter electric truck in Japan with the Ample battery swapping system, with plans to integrate them “on a global scale” in the company’s active fleets.
Rich 2nd generation battery exchange station
According to Ample, last-mile delivery accounts for 25-30% of emissions in cities globally. Ample says the swap station doesn’t need backup and the truck can even be loaded while its batteries are being swapped.
The company unveiled its second-generation swap system in May. Ample unveils the first generation of the system in 2021 after seven years of secret development. According to the company, it took “years of research and development, thousands of swaps and over a million miles of electricity” to make the swap technology a reality.
The new swap platform allows it to effectively halve the swap time, from 10 minutes to 5 minutes, and passengers can get in or out of the vehicle while the swap is in progress.
Ample emphasizes that their station installation requires no digging and that a complete station can be installed in three days from pre-built sections. It says its stations have been “combat tested to withstand extreme temperatures and weather conditions.”
Rich battery swap
Since its launch in 2021, Ample has worked with multiple fleets, especially those involved in last-mile deliveries, and found that business-use electric vehicle drivers can spend about 25% of their workweek at charging stations—largely due to a lack of reliable overnight charging.
So far, Ample has mainly worked with the Nissan Leaf, an air-cooled vehicle. Ample’s integration relies on a shoebox-sized modular battery. It did not detail how it would handle cooling system connections in a higher-load delivery vehicle like the eCanter, which has a liquid-cooled battery pack.
Replace battery CATL Evogo
The idea of swapping batteries is tested and removed by Tesla and seems to have died a few years ago. But amid concerns about reliable fast charging, companies have been more interested in the idea. Battery giant CATL last year rolled out the whole Evogo business around battery exchangefocus on Chinese EV driver without home charging.
More recently, Fisker also announced that their Ocean electric SUV replacement batteries will be available in 2024in a project with Ample.
