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While visiting Israel recently, I got a chance to drive a very unique electric car: Renault Fluence Z.E. This is the car that is exclusively made for (and sold through) Better Place—a global EV charging infrastructure initiative founded in 2007 that went through bankruptcy this spring. But this drive wasn’t so much about the car as it was about the unique battery swap experience the Israeli start-up pioneered. (Read "Visiting Better Place and driving the EV future.)
Battery swaps grabbed some headlines recently when Tesla announced that it plans to introduce exchange batteries in the Model S in just 90 seconds. (Visit our guide to alternative fuels.)
Tesla currently offers supercharging along some Interstate highways for free, providing the ability to fill the battery to half its capacity in 30 minutes. But even that impressive feat isn’t comparable to a gas tank fill up that takes just a couple of minutes and usually returns hundreds of miles of driving. Battery swaps will be available at some point in the future at Tesla supercharging venues, but unlike the free supercharging, there will be a fee. (Read our Tesla Model S road test.)
I’ve been eager to try a battery swap in any car. So, while overseas, I took advantage of an opportunity to experience such a swap using a company car owned by Better Place’s Sales Operations Manager Iftach Ariav. The switch station I tried is adjacent to a gas station with other facilities, including a convenience store. Teaming battery swap locations with such businesses reduced the risks and costs of building standalone facilities, and it also provides customers with rest rooms and travel-related services.
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As I drove the car into a chute resembling a car wash, an electronic reader identified me as a customer and displayed “Hello Iftach” on the car’s screen. Then a barrier opened up and invited me to proceed. Once I lined up the side mirror with a yellow marker, the process became completely automated. The system aligned the car perfectly, moving it slightly sideways if necessary. We sat in the car during the process and the graphics on the slick screen displayed that the car was being raised.
With various whirring noises, the next step gave the sensation that something was being unscrewed. Sure enough, the screen showed that the old battery was being removed and taken away in the pit just below. As the new battery was installed, we again heard some torque gun noises. It turns out that initially Renault didn’t know to how to secure the battery. Hence, Better Place developed a solution that resembles fitting munitions onto a fighter jet, leaving the pilot, or driver in this case, to just sit back while the mechanical work is underway.
Now with a fresh and fully charged battery on board, I waited for the green light and subsequent exit barrier to open. All told the process took just under five minutes. A bit longer than a fill-up, perhaps, but way quicker than any current EV recharging solution.
As we left the station, another Fluence Z.E. rolled in for a swap. Having driven the Fluence Z.E. for less than a year, Ariav attests to never having any range anxiety and covering as many miles as he needs to. Ariav claims that he sometimes drives from the north to the southern part of the country and back in one day, totaling over 200 miles. This is unheard of for any electric car that’s not a Tesla Model S. All total, he’s accumulated nearly 30,000 miles.
While Better Place announced its bankruptcy in May, it continues operation under new ownership. Today, Better Place serves about a 1,000 electric Renault Fluence Z.E. sedans owned by customers in Israel and about 400 in Denmark—representing just a sliver of the projected sales, hence the bankruptcy.
One of Better Place’s letdowns was the failure to convince automakers to build EVs that have switchable batteries. Only French automaker Renault agreed to create an electric car capable of battery swaps.
Financial woes not withstanding, the Better Place execution of user interface and battery swaps en route is an elegant, clean solution for EV mobility. Unfortunately, stations that can only serve one model has, by definition, limited appeal. While the upcoming Tesla swaps will be exclusive to that brand, the fortunes look to be different, with Tesla sales being a multiple of the Fluence Z.E. Further, its swap stations will likely serve the upcoming crossover and sedan models, in addition to the Model S.
Perhaps one day a more universal battery swap solution will emerge.
—Gabe Shenhar
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