BMW CE 04 review

[Data]

I don't think hot swappable batteries are going to happen to any real extent. Battery technology is advancing so fast that it makes that idea unnecessary. Batteries with very long ranges will be how it is. Those batteries will also charge up very quickly in just minutes.

[EvilRacer329]

It's already a thing in east-asia, stations where you ride up, pull the box battery out, slot it into a spare space on the charger, pop a new one in. And all the major motorcycle manufacturers very recently signed a memorandum of understanding to develop standardised, swappable batteries.

Don't forget - the advantage of shared batteries is that as new tech is developed the old cells can be taken out of circulation and new ones dropped in. One day, you'll notice that the cells you're installing in your older electric scooter are providing more miles per charge, and you're still just paying for the electricity!

The challenge with current battery chemistry is that energy density and speed of charge/discharge are diametrically opposed. So we can have longer-range, slower charging batteries for slower vehicles, or high-power fast-charging packs that can't hold as much energy.

Nick

[Data]

Yes indeed Evil. I'm aware the swappable battery situation has progressed but it's mainly going to benefit the less well developed countries and Asia on small bikes where charging could be more problematic for bike owners where the electric infrastructure just isn't as capable. Over here swapping is already available on smaller bikes. But battery technology is very quickly going to make battery swapping almost obsolete probably in just two, three or so years for europe. Manufacturers know this. Battery tech is advancing really fast at breakneck speed. Energy density is and will increase massively using new materials and charging times will only take a few minutes. This is just around the corner and will be with us (for some battery types) in just 2-3 years or so. It's real and it's coming.

One of my ex tech colleagues who is currently working in a development team to design and build new types of electric motors had been working with a very advanced new battery type. It has really high energy density, far more than Li-ion but charges up fully in just minutes. It also had a far longer lifespan. He can't say what's in the batteries but he said it's almost ready for its final prototype stage, and then production. But the production is the thing that will cause the delays as factories are needing to be built to produce them. It's all very exciting!

[EvilRacer329]

That is indeed very exciting! And if those arrive on the market soon enough then yes, there'd be little need to compromise packaging in order to allow for quick-removal etc. I'll watch this space, so to speak!

Nick

[OneFootInTheGravy]

In the (further) future, range might not be an issue at all. Wireless charging would be a real game-changer for battery tech/electric vehicles. I imagine the infrastructure costs would be astronomical though!

[EvilRacer329]

Indeed; and it wouldn't work for anything with a reasonable amount of ground clearance, I'd imagine...

Nick

[Data]

But will it charge my phone at the same time??

[StephenC]

Re: infrastructure costs. Gigaclear have laid fibre in even my little village so that we can get up to 400 things internet. If they can find the money to do this, I'm sure it can be done for inductive power lines too.

[Data]

I think broadband cable laying is a doddle compared to laying inductive charging cable in a road. No comparison regarding cost. But I like the charging cable idea. It's just one more thing that may help some EV cars. Overall though, I doubt it's going to be needed en-mass due to the technological improvements coming down the line.

400 internet thingies down the line is impressive. I only get 108 internet thingies.

[StephenC]

I think broadband cable laying is a doddle compared to laying inductive charging cable in a road. No comparison regarding cost. But I like the charging cable idea. It's just one more thing that may help some EV cars. Overall though, I doubt it's going to be needed en-mass due to the technological improvements coming down the line.

400 internet thingies down the line is impressive. I only get 108 internet thingies.

Point taken.

They reckon we can get up to 900 thingies if we don't mind big bucks for it. Bit of a change from BT's current 28 and it was only 4 when we moved here 6 years ago!