The US company Ample, which specialises in battery swap technology for electric vehicles, has completed the deployment of its first modular battery swap stations in Madrid. This is just the start of a wider roll-out across the capital, which aims to address the main barriers to electric vehicle adoption: charging time, range and infrastructure scalability.

This deployment has been made possible thanks to the Moves Singulares funding awarded by the Spanish Government to finance innovative technologies that contribute to accelerating the transition to electric mobility. Amounting to 9.76 million euros, the award is managed by the Spanish Institute for Energy Diversification and Saving (IDAE), with funds from the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan financed by the European Union through NextGenerationEU.

Modular stations
The government aid will allow the company to install several more modular stations for swapping electric vehicle batteries in the centre of Madrid. These stations are being deployed in collaboration with Stellantis with the aim of creating a Fiat 500e car-sharing service, included in  Free2move, the motor vehicle manufacturer’s mobility services operator, and Free2move Charge, the dedicated charging service for its customers.

Ample CEO Khaled Hassounah says the grant is “an extraordinary step for Ample and the electric mobility industry in Spain. By partnering with the Spanish Government we are not only meeting the immediate infrastructure needs of Madrid’s growing population, but we are also laying the foundation for a sustainable and future-proof urban mobility ecosystem.”

Innovative technology
The innovative battery swapping technology developed by Ample allows electric vehicles to be fully charged in five minutes. The system is designed to be used in any electric vehicle model, and involves replacing depleted batteries with fully charged ones. The stations have a modular architecture that facilitates deployment in just three days.

The Moves Singulares funding was awarded to Ample in this first edition for its modular battery swapping technology. The award does in addition recognise the company’s ability to address the constraints of urban charging, support fleets with a high utilisation rate and contribute to reducing vehicle emissions in densely populated areas.

^{Photo: Ample}