ENEOS Holdings, Inc., Tokyo, Japan, (CEO: Katsuyuki Ota) and Ample, Inc., San Francisco Bay Area, (CEO: Khaled Hassounah, President: John de Souza), a U.S-based startup in which ENEOS has invested in, have announced a business collaboration to launch an EV battery swapping service in Japan.
Through this partnership, both companies aim to develop an energy delivery service for EVs (in the form of battery swapping) that is quick, convenient, and at a low cost, just like supplying gasoline, the companies said.
More specifically, in order to launch an EV battery swapping service that utilizes Ample’s fully-automated robotic battery swapping technology, the companies plan to conduct an initial project involving several passenger and last mile delivery companies within the fiscal year ending in March 2022 in Japan. Further, to support the growth of renewable energy, thay will also study using the swapping station as a large stationary battery, which will contribute to the optimization of energy utilization and the ability to use the batteries as an emergency power source.
As a long-term global trend, the ENEOS Group foresees a society in which EVs become widespread. Per its goal of providing the next generation energy supply and community services as stated in our Long-Term Vision to 2040, the Group is studying diversified EVrelated businesses including this project.
Ample aims to promote the spread of EVs by reducing the time loss (time required for charging) and the implementation cost (capital expenditure for the charging infrastructure) associated with electrification of vehicles. Ample currently provides an energy delivery service utilizing its innovative battery swapping technology to transportation companies in the United States and plans to start deploying internationally later within 2021.