Ample, a battery swap startup, aims to speed up the electrification of last-mile delivery vehicles, with a particular focus on Mitsubishi Fuso trucks. In a recent announcement, the two companies revealed a new global partnership. This collaboration entails Ample integrating its EV battery swap technology into Mitsubishi Fuso trucks, making them available for purchase by fleets worldwide.
Hailing from California, Ample is a startup steadfastly pursuing its ambitious mission of contributing to the global presence of one billion electric vehicles on the streets. Specializing in modular battery swap stations, the company excels in swiftly returning EVs to the road, ensuring efficient and timely mobility. This kind of technology is especially useful in commercial vehicles like Fuso’s EV Canter truck where downtime caused by recharging could mean a loss of profit for business owners.
Back in 2021, Ample deployed its initial generation of autonomous battery-swapping stations in San Francisco, California. During this period, the company gathered valuable data and collaborated with prominent rideshare company Uber and last-mile delivery startup, Sally.
In May of the following year, Ample unveiled its second-generation swap station, highlighting the issue faced by electric last-mile fleet vehicles, which often spend an excessive 10 to 12 hours weekly at charging stations. To address this challenge, Ample took significant steps to enhance efficiency. As a result, they introduced battery swap capabilities for larger EV models and remarkably reduced the entire swap process from 10 to just five minutes. A much faster process as compared to parking a truck to charge.
In a winter trial scheduled in Japan, Mitsubishi Fuso plans to adapt its eCanter electric truck to facilitate battery swapping. Ample's cutting-edge system will be implemented at gas stations in the Kansai region of western Japan. At these automated swap points, a robot will exchange the truck's depleted battery with a fully charged one, with the aim of getting the vehicle back on the road within a mere five minutes.
Unlike most electric trucks currently available in Japan, which have non-removable batteries and necessitate around 10 hours to charge, this innovative solution by Mitsubishi Fuso and Ample aims to significantly reduce downtime and enhance the efficiency of electric truck fleets
Other manufacturers are also testing batter-swapping tech on their vehicles. According to a report done by the Japanese newspaper Nikkei, Isuzu Motors is actively engaged in testing battery-swappable electric trucks in collaboration with trading house Itochu and convenience store chain FamilyMart.
Meanwhile, over in China, a country at the forefront of the EV transition compared to Japan, carmaker Nio has successfully established over 1,000 battery-swapping stations nationwide, with further expansion plans in the pipeline.
