Transport

Better Place, the electric car infrastructure developer, has unveiled its battery switch technology at a demonstration in Yokohama, Japan.

The automated process, which takes about a minute, removes the depleted battery from a car and replaces it with a fully charged one. The driver never has to leave the vehicle.

The system comprises two robotic battery shuttles on a track. One shuttle holds the charged battery until insertion into a car, while the other removes the depleted battery to a storage bay for recharging and insertion into another vehicle.

The set up is designed to work with all different shapes and sizes of electric cars and their batteries. The demonstration in Japan featured a modified Nissan electric SUV. Better Place also demonstrated a battery recharging process for fixed battery vehicles using Sharp Corporation photovoltaic solar panels.

“Today marks a major milestone for the automotive industry as well as for Better Place,” commented CEO of Better Place, Shah Agassi.

“Our successful demonstration of charging vehicles with both fixed and switchable batteries is an important contribution towards moving the entire industry forward,” added Kiyotaka Fujii, president of Better Place Japan.

For further information:
www.betterplace.com

Related stories:
Japan to work with Better Place on electric vehicles (11-Dec 2008)
Better Place signs electric car deal with Ontario (19-Jan)
Electric car infrastructure gets investment injection (2-Feb)
Hawaii signs up to electric car network (4-Dec 2008)