> For a battery swap out, you need not only the infrastructure to deliver fresh batteries to points of use/sale
With enough inventory, why couldn't you charge locally?
With enough inventory, why couldn't you charge locally?
Read the article a little closer and you'll see that these Aluminum-air batteries can't really recharge. The Aluminum is converted into a new (lower energy) compound as the energy is released from the battery. To "recharge" you need to send the battery back to a recycling facility where the Aluminum compound is smelted back into pure (higher energy) Aluminum. So the smelter is where the stored energy is coming from.
I suppose someone could design a local smelter and reformer, but that seems like a pain given alternative battery options.
Also, if anyone is interested, there is also a method by which Aluminum is used to react with water to liberate Hydrogen that can then be used as fuel in a fuel cell (same deal, the resulting Aluminum compound must be regenerated in a smelter if you want to reuse it). The subject Al-air battery seems a little better as it takes the need for a fuel cell out of the equation.