Battery 'swap' station for electric vehicles unveiled

Company aims to overcome obstacle of long charging times

YOKOHAMA, Japan – A California-based company has unveiled a new battery-swapping technology that could overcome a key obstacle to the adoption of electric cars

The company is aiming to establish a ubiquitous network of charging posts, supplemented with a series of battery exchange stations where drivers traveling long distances can quickly swap a drained battery for a fully charged one, said CEO and founder Shai Agassi.

The exchange stations address one major complaint about electric cars that have stalled them at the experimental stage so far: the frequent, extended stops necessary to charge them.

“Most zero-emission cars have been experimental in nature, small in volume and expensive to say the least,” Agassi said. “And definitely not convenient. We were lacking those two elements