E-MOBILITY
“Batteries are very fl exible but on the whole people use 11 or 22-kilowatt- hour input for those batteries.” Although the batteries recharge
slowly, more time is now available for recharging because they are not needed instantly. The aim of the technology is to minimise the driver’s downtime rather than increase the speed of battery charging, and this is what the swappable batteries achieve. “We all know that people chuck stuff
in the back of these vans sometimes, so we need to actively design in as much of that stuff as we can,” Clarke adds. The battery replacement process is
designed to be very basic. Tual has been workshopping with companies to perfect this process. Most locations tend to have staff on-site who are forklift-certifi ed, however a forklift is not always required for the battery to be changed over. The PowerBank cannot be changed by hand as it weighs 260kg. Clarke expands on the future of
the product, saying: “When we have our swap system available it will be a plug-and-play solution.” The swap system is a mechanical-
assisted lift process, similar to a pallet stacker relief system, so the process is relatively straightforward.
STAYING SAFE The batteries have four layers of defence to protect them against
damage. All technology and modules have been certifi ed; even if the battery pack is penetrated, the battery remains safe. An aluminium case, dubbed
‘The Pack’, houses the battery and is standard to have inside a car. Tual’s aluminium Monobank has an aluminium skin wrapped around it. Finally, a steel frame, named the ‘Vault’, encompasses all of this. In the future, the steel frame may be removed from the battery pack as it increases the overall weight of the product signifi cantly. However, it is reportedly ‘bulletproof’ so it currently serves the battery pack safety requirements well. “We have designed this so if
someone put a cement mixer in the back of a van, drove along and did an emergency stop, it’d be fi ne,” Clarke says. “What’s more likely is someone has left a power tool sitting on a rack and they haven’t secured that properly. We tend to be talking about small items. The battery pack has more defence than the battery underneath the vehicle itself.”
THE BUSINESS BENEFIT Tual’s chargers off er a large potential business benefi t to fl eets, the fi rst being increased productivity. Less time charging means more time on the road, which drastically decreases
The lifting pocket on the on-vehicle battery allows for easy changeover
the amount of time drivers spend at recharging stations and increases time spent on the road. Expensive extensions and upgrades to the national grid can also be forgone using the PowerBank. Upgrades to critical infrastructure are not only expensive but can also create signifi cant downtime for facilities. Additionally, single vehicle owners
can benefi t from the technology. Van owners who live in areas where on- street charging is not available can now charge their vehicles overnight using the PowerBank. This reduces the amount of time spent at public chargers and increases fl exibility in where the van can be stored. Van owners can park for the night with a nearly depleted van and wake up with a nearly fully charged van, allowing them to get to work straight away in the morning. Tual has developed a further
concept unit that builds on this technology, currently on the AA’s vans. On its ID bus, the AA carries a rescue charger created by Tual which can charge EVs that have run out of power on the road. The charger is a slightly bigger pack and can potentially complete a full recharge as it provides 60kWh. It is the EV equivalent to a petrol can for refuelling combustion vehicles. The recharger works on vans and lorries as well as domestic vehicles.
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