Better Place to launch Danish network for electric cars

With plans for a commercial launch later this year, electric car-focused Better Place has unveiled its first battery switching station in Europe.

The station in Gladsaxe, just outside of Copenhagen, demonstrated the company’s Battery Switch technology by replacing the battery in a Renault Fluence ZE. The station is the first of 20 to be deployed across Denmark over the next nine months as part of Better Place’s nationwide network of charging infrastructure. The company is launching the network in partnership with DONG Energy and more than 45 Danish municipalities.

“I am convinced that with the Battery Switch model, we have overcome the last barrier to the electric car’s commercial breakthrough: range,” said Johnny Hansen, CEO of Better Place Denmark.

“Together we are unlocking the full potential of electric cars, giving them virtually unlimited range because they no longer have to wait hours to charge,” added Henrik Bang of Renault Denmark.

Customers using Better Place’s technology will be able to swipe their membership cards to authenticate their car and subscription and activate the switch. The rest of the process is automated, similar to going through a car wash, so the driver never has to leave the car. In just a few minutes, a robotic arm removes the depleted battery and replaces it with a full one and the driver is back on the road.