The revolution in electric car charging is coming: batteries ready in 5 minutes

A pioneering type of electric car charging system is now available in Madrid. Launched at several Repsol stations, it's an automatic battery exchange system, a technology that promises to reduce charging times to just five minutes. It actually involves swapping a discharged battery for a fully charged one. According to Repsol, this technology is developed by the company Ample, which optimizes the operation of electric fleets and significantly reduces charging times, also in collaboration with Stellantis and Free2move.

Ample's lightweight battery swapping stations can be deployed in public areas in as little as three days, enabling a rapidly scalable infrastructure capable of meeting driver demand.

When an Ample-enabled electric vehicle approaches the station, it immediately recognizes the vehicle. Once parked, the driver initiates the battery swap from the mobile app, resulting in a fully charged battery in less than five minutes.

Ample's modular battery swapping solution is designed to be fast and cost-effective, minimizing EV downtime and the associated financial impacts. Ample's battery technology would be available to EV customers through a subscription service. This approach would reduce the initial total cost of ownership of the vehicle while allowing the customer to always benefit from the latest battery technology, effectively increasing the EV's range and lifespan.

Initially, the deployment of this automated battery exchange system will have three different locations at Repsol service stations in the Community of Madrid: in the Montecarmelo neighborhood, which is already operational and open to the public; on Avenida de Andalucía, which is in the final installation phase and will begin operating in the coming weeks; and in Barajas, although this station is still in the preliminary phase.

In addition, Ample has already installed a station on Manuel Luna Street, which complements the current battery exchange network in the capital.