Fiat is testing battery replacement technology in five minutes in Madrid
Italian company Fiat is testing in Madrid the technology of fast battery replacement of the Fiat 500e electric car. If the experiment succeeds, it could solve one of the main problems of electric cars - long charging time.
Here's What We Know
Instead of waiting hours for the battery to charge, the driver simply drives to a replacement station. There, an automated system removes the discharged battery in five minutes and puts in a fully charged one.
There are now 40 converted Fiat 500e's taking part in the test. The components for the replacement batteries are supplied by Ample. The size and other parameters of the batteries Fiat does not disclose yet.
The above cars belong to the Free2Move carsharing service, which is part of the Stellantis Group, which owns Fiat. The cars are used by ordinary Madrid residents.
So far, only one battery swap station is operating, but they plan to build several more as part of the trials. The Spanish government supported the project with a grant of 9.8 million euros.
Fiat plans to increase the test fleet to 100 cars in the coming months. If the experiment is successful, the technology will be offered to private buyers, promised Fiat CEO Olivier François.
It is still unclear whether the technology will be extended to other electric cars Stellantis. The fact that the 500e is built on its own platform, not on the universal e-CMP, which is used by electric cars Citroën, Peugeot, Vauxhall and other brands of the concern.
Source: Fiat
