For them to become a transport solution accepted by everyone, electric cars have to get at least as cheap as ordinary gas-powered ones. A trailer-like battery called ebuggy has been unveiled in Germany. It promises to revolutionize the future of transportation by providing virtually limitless electricity to EV owners through a network of charging stations.
Unlike charging an electric car directly, where you have to wait for hours, battery swap solutions such as that proposed by Better Place are a viable option for EVs to become even cheaper than regular cars. However, the battery swapping infrastructure can prove difficult to build and maintain.
ebuggy doesn’t have any problem with maintenance, as it can sit in a parking lot waiting for the next customer to tow it down the motorway. At the next swap point, the driver simply replaces the depleted ebuggy with a charged one in 2 minutes and is ready to go.
“ebuggy allows the automotive industry to build reasonably priced electric vehicles with a smaller battery, because ebuggy is available for longer distances. As a result, electric cars will become cheaper than vehicles with a combustion engine and e-mobility will be able to assert itself rapidly and dynamically,” said Dr. Manfred Baumgärtner, Managing Director of ebuggy GmbH.
Backed by the German government and helped by the Fraunhofer Institut IPA and Stuttgart University, the ebuggy project really has big success chances. For the moment, they only need more investors to turn their idea into a commercial application.
http://youtu.be/TyQC7z0P2zE
[via heraldonline]
Devastatingly brilliant and elegant in its simplicity!