Battery exchange is not a new concept and has been revisited as many times as the electric
vehicle over the past 100 years. From the electrified cab services and railyard engines of the early 1900's to the
modern iteration by BetterPlace, companies keep putting time and energy into rapid exchange because the
benifits are undeniable. So we need to understand why previous attempts failed, and why Atmo technology solves these
problems.
1. BetterPlace developed a very expensive process that left no room for a feasible business plan. Their
installations required construction of a specialized building full of robotics. This sort of initial expense cannot
be recovered by an industry in its infancy. Our answer to this is in our mechanical design. The linear strips of packs,
using the vehicle itself as the main means of pack manipulation instead of robots, and finally our simplified lifts
with one greased pivot point put us in a completely different realm of feasibility. No ground-breaking is necessary to
install our system, so lifts can be added, subtracted, or moved based on demand. This aspect also changes the game in
terms of locations, because in most cases a commercial use permit is all that is required, again cutting the huge cost
and hassle of traditional construction and zoning. This was the significance of setting up on the carpet at CES and
performing two hundred of the fastest pack exchanges in the world without failure.
2. BetterPlace set unrealistic goals and targeted the wrong market segment. They claimed that 100,000 units would be
sold the first year of private
vehicle production which put them in a trajectory for major dissappointment. The EV
industry is a relative stream, not a river. Jumping in and swimming like mad to compete with petrol will only get you
scraped up and bruised. Our solution is to foster a complete
transportation solution for fleet customers of which ALE is a critical element. Atmo has an opportunity to grow the
influence and size of the industry itself and become a
major OEM brand in a rapidly advancing electrified future. This future will pivot on a new age of vehicles which will
combine leaders in autonomous control, alternative manufacturing, electric drive systems, and ride-hailing services to
create the ultimate micro-transit solution. A major hang-up keeping this synergy from materializing has been the
expense and limited duty-cycle of current electric vehicle options. Our technology solves this obstacle by introducing
a simplified and seamless battery exchange process.
3. BetterPlace immediately created a fight with automakers by demanding a universal standard pack. My experience in the
industry is that weeks are often wasted as design and engineering argue over the placement of a bolt. So the idea that
you can standardize such a main component across the whole industry is a pretty tough hill to climb. While this is very
true, it is also true that some form of standardization must occur. Our solution is to offer many sizes of packs. The
lifts can handle a range of sizes to a certain point, and sizes can be organized in size specific lanes. Take a look at
our plaza video for further understanding.
You can set our system up virtually anywhere, a rest area, a parking lot, a school, indoor, etc. It is time to take
another look at a far more convenient, efficient and sustainable way to power electric vehicles. ALE by Atmo.