August 28, 2010

Tokyo taxis test battery swapping for electric vehicles

Filed under: Climate-Change,Energy-Issues,Research — malamahonua @ 4:30 am

59 Seconds Average Swapping Time for batteries:
Better Place, in collaboration with the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy of Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and Nihon Kotsu Co., Tokyo’s largest taxi operator, has been doing real-world testing of a battery-swapping station in Tokyo. The trial, which started last April and has just been extended until November, aims to determine the “feasibility of battery switch as means for taxis to have instant, zero emission, range extension.”

“Up to this point, there has been very little information about how an EV battery will perform in heavily used, real-world, taxi conditions. This program has provided us with critical insights into the battery performance in a switch model and switch station performance for the toughest customers – taxi drivers,” said Kiyotaka Fujii, President of Better Place Japan. “By extending this program, we hope to gain further insights into the battery performance and durability of the switch station itself, which will be invaluable as we move towards commercial launch later next year in Israel and Denmark.”

Read more of this landmark story….

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