I am a bit skeptical about the idea about swappable batteries because it forces you to drive a short-rage EV that will be no good when you leave the area that is supported by swapping stations.

However, what if you changed the concept a bit? Offer a short-range EV with a 30kWh fixed battery and a 100 miles range and make sure that vehicle has the ability to swap in either another 30kWh of battery to make it a 200 miles EV or alternatively to swap in a gasoline range extender to make it a range extended EV with a 70 miles all EV range or so. Also design it so that when the vehicle is run in its basis configuration with no extra battery or gasoline range extender the empty space can be used for luggage.

That would make me believe in the swapping concept because you could sell people a vehicle that could do it all and that does not cost more to produce in its basis short-range EV configuration than a traditional gasoline vehicle.

Please criticize this idea. I have not discovered any flaws in this concept yet so maybe I need help.

How about swapping out a metal-air battery range extender instead. Assume the rechargeable is on a continuous trickle charge from the range extender. Let's say the range extender lasts several hundred miles. -> Zero emissions, no exhaust or generator. Maybe even ditch the Li-ion and use a cheaper, longer-lasting battery pack.

Those of us who are used to the 300 to 400 mile range of the ICE will need to adapt to the shorter range of the current BEVs. The swapping stations are an answer to extending the range without adding additional weight. Swaps are expected to take less than five minutes and will be accomplished by a special robot.

As the BEV technology matures,i.e., batteries increase in energy density, chassis get lighter and more aerodynamic, motors and suspensions components are relocated in the wheels, etc., the ranges are expected to increase along with fast charging battery stations. Perhaps leading to the day that pure BEVs break 300 miles.

The idea behind "Better Place" is to get the technology on the street and into mass use. You must decide when to enter the market. If you want trouble-free long-range BEV use, you may need to wait for awhile.

The drivers who can put up with this clumsy arrangement should have taken the bus. I think the reaction to the charging points won't be as positive as hoped.

Outside of Japan people will want just one car that can go 500km on a tank with reasonable performance and a bolted-in long life battery that is charged at home. That has to be a PHEV with a multifuel internal combustion engine. Maybe cut some airbags and CD players and sell a basic model that low wage workers can afford.

Is the range of an ICE vehicle an arbitary number? or is it a market requirement?

You could fit a 20 gallon tank on a car and give it a range of say 500 miles. Hardly anyone does that ... why? ... because it's not neccessary!

The size of the tank is a compromise, based on a multiplexity of needs in cities and countries all over the world. People learned to accept the current frequency of visits to gas stations. Gas stations have been sized and spaced out to match the demand. Changing the average size of the tank would actually pose a big problem to the gas station industry.

PHEV/BEV charging is a new paradigm. Try to get the old ideas and habits out of your heads.

You can charge a BEV at home or a charging point at any parking location. When battery car infrastructure develops (and it will). In most urban and dense population rural areas you will rarely get low on juice.

It takes about 20-30 days to develop a new habit. After 2 months plugging in at night or down at the grocers, it will not register as a chore. You will have forgotten about gas stations. Your lazy mind will find ways to make the process efficient. Habits will change.

For example: If you regularly drive 200 miles to go fishing on a Saturday. You will find youself stopping for breakfast midway to charge up and avoid using gas in your PHEV. Your life will change in subtle ways. It is neither a good thing nor a bad thing.

Even when only a fraction of the eventual electric infrastructure is developed. 110 miles range will not be a genuine issue for most of the driving population.

PBP are developing swap stations as one method to overcome the resistance to change of potential customers. It is an irrelevancy to the long term future of electric transportation.

ZEBRA batteries now give you as much range as you can afford and about the same range or more than most production Lithium batteries. You can easily get one km for one kg, so buy 400kg and get 250 miles and more. They will get cheaper if more are sold.

There is no reason to buy much range as it will not be used much of the time.

Two or more tiny engine range extenders can be designed to very efficiently cope with long range when it is needed. TZERO demonstrated the effective use of range extenders, but their reports seem no longer to be available since they are busy making drives for MINI-E.

Most of the advantages of hybrid drive cars are obtained without large batteries. If your battery covers your avarage daily trips, it is enough.
..HG..

Good thing no sane person believes in range extended vehicles having zero emissions. Technically not feasible today. BUT today we have the 40 mile AER, from Chevy Volt with flex fuel range extender. Their 16kWh battery is warranted for 150,000 miles or ten years. The much smaller Misubishi iMiEV also uses the 16kWh battery for an 80 - 90 mile AER.

And of course there is a range extender option announced by GM's E-Flex group that includes an H2 FC. But any H2 solution is cost and infrastructure bound.

In any case charge points will be built to accommodate vehicle owners. If a business wants to tout their greenness and they have even one PHEV owner driving to work - they'll pony the $500 bucks needed for a 220V 50A outlet. They will then (if they're marginally intelligent) blow their green horn and reap civic kudos for helping make the world a better place - without Shai and his swapshop.

"Yes 100 miles a day is fine for most people, for most trips, but there are large classes of people who need to go more than 100 miles at some point during the week. Rather more than half the vehicles on the road are hauliers going on long trips anyway. Absolutely nobody will want to swap batteries or recharge every 100 miles on those longer trips."

For me an electric car with a 100km range would serve 99% of my needs, but there is still that trip I make each year on vacation. However on this trip I'm also pulling a trailer and if I had an electric car I could put a genset in the trailer, wire it into the car, and recharge the car on the go. Why should I carry an engine around in my elecric car 99% of the time when I only need it 1% of the time?

I can see putting battery swap depos on the highway between cities when the distances are short; like 200-300 miles. One or two 5min breaks on this kind of trip would not be all that great an inconvenience (not even for those unplanned trips) but if you're planning a longer trip why aren't you actually PLANNING for the trip? Plan stops for lunch etc. Maybe you could rent a genset trailer or rent a RV and tow your EV. (tongue ever so lightly inserted into cheek)

In a future filled with EVs new services will spring up[see genset trailer or RV tugs] like passenger train travel with car carriers added, or even E-guideways where your car is switched over to automatic and draws in power from a contact running along the guideway. (tongue now deeply inserted into cheek [but not all the way in] ;^)

JasG:

Thanks for the update. Wasn't aware of an emission free serial hybrid twenty years ago. Could you provide more detail?

I suspect that over the next ten years we will have no problem recharging 70-90% PHEVs at night. If the 40 mi/day typical drive range proves correct (stat-wise it is) then errands and commutes for first gen owners will easily be handled by night-extra capacity. Remember the vast majority of charging will be trickle charge over 6-8 hour time frame.

The Volt battery is LG. The warranty remains as announced as far as I know. A123 is negotiating to supply heavy-duty Li-Ion batteries to Chrysler's four PHEV/HEV vehicles.

Nobody yet has the opportunity to drive around in EV's where there is actually a charging infrastructure in place.

The charging infrastructure is the paradigm changer. Some of the proponents of Hybrids over BEV's are only thinking about todays infrastructure. No harm in that as it is todays reality. But, that doesn't mean it will be tommorows reality.

In the long term I am a strong advocate of BEV's over hybrids. I'm realistic enought to see the prime opportunity today is limited to specific applications:

1) Urban runaround in US (2nd or 3rd family car)
2) Island "like" environments e.g. Hawaii, Singapore, Israel, Iceland etc
3) Dense population areas with committed infrastructure development e.g. London, Berlin, Oslo.

As the charging infrastructure develops, more and more markets will open up for emission free BEV's. In 5-10 years time BEV's will reach a tipping point and start to win out over hybrids.

I prefer to pass over the hybrid interim stage and realise the BEV end game sooner rather than later.