Nov 21, 2024

Mitsubishi Corporation invests in Ample Mitsubishi Corporation, a Japanese trading and investment company independent of the car manufacturer Mitsubishi Motors, is investing 25 million US dollars in Ample, a provider of a battery swap solution for electric vehicles. Image: Ample With this new deal, the Japanese Mitsubishi Corporation aims to help accelerate the deployment of sustainable energy solutions. Ample also wants to leverage Mitsubishi Corporation’s expert knowledge to improve its technology. Commenting on the deal, Khaled Hassounah, CEO of Ample, said that Mitsubishi Corporation’s investment will be invaluable in scaling its battery-swapping infrastructure. Hassounah added: “We are thrilled to have Mitsubishi Corporation join us on our mission to make electric vehicle adoption more accessible and sustainable. Their investment and industry knowledge will be invaluable as we continue to scale our battery-swapping infrastructure and advance our technology.” Founded in 2014, the U.S. startup Ample is committed to making significant strides in its battery-swapping business. Last year, it announced that it would collaborate with Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation , a partnership between Mitsubishi Fuso Truck & Bus and Hino Motors for commercial vehicle development, procurement and production with a view to electrification. The collaboration aims to test battery swap technology for electric trucks. Following the announcement, in August 2024, the Mitsubishi Fuso kicked off a battery swap demonstration for electric trucks on public roads in Japan in which courier service Yamato Transport will conduct the test in Kyoto. Ample has revealed its second generation of battery-swapping technology and also signed a deal for the use of its modular battery replacement technology in Stellantis electric cars . In order to enable quick battery replacement in under five minutes, as promised by Ample, the vehicles have to be prepared with special replaceable batteries from Ample. And on the other hand, Ample has to set up corresponding exchange stations. Unlike Nio’s Power Swap Stations, where vehicles are automatically parked in reverse, Ample vehicles can drive in from the rear and simply drive out at the front – similar to a petrol station. This scenario suits commercial vehicles, as can be seen from the test with the eCanter in Kyoto.