logo
Ample to Partner with Japanese OEMs Deploying Swapping Stations in Tokyo

Ample to Partner with Japanese OEMs Deploying Swapping Stations in Tokyo

TOKYO & SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mar 19, 2025--
Ample will deploy a network of swapping stations in Tokyo, with an initial focus on supporting commercial fleets in the logistics sector. This expansion of Ample's swapping network will provide additional swapping coverage and capacity, with each station able to support over 100 vehicles. The initiative, backed by the Tokyo Metropolitan Environmental Public Corporation, will advance Tokyo's goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030 by offering additional charging solutions for the city's millions of commercial vehicles.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here:
(Photo: Business Wire)
In early 2024, Ample entered the Japanese market by deploying battery swapping stations in Kyoto in partnership with Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation (MFTBC) and ENEOS Holdings. The Kyoto deployment demonstrated core benefits of modular battery swapping for fleet electrification, including fast energy delivery, minimizing changes to fleet operations, and reducing load on the electric grid by slowly charging the batteries in the swapping station.
'Tokyo is one of the world's most advanced cities in sustainable urban development and one of the largest markets for commercial deliveries, making it the perfect place for our next deployments as we expand our presence in Japan,' said Khaled Hassounah, CEO of Ample. 'By providing a fast and scalable solution for commercial fleets, we're helping the City of Tokyo set an example for how densely populated cities can electrify. We're honored that the Tokyo Metropolitan Environmental Public Corporation has selected Ample and its Japanese partners to demonstrate the potential of EV battery swapping.'
Japan is a global leader in automotive manufacturing, and since the 1970s, the sector has been a cornerstone of the Japanese economy. However, in recent years, Japan has been slow to adopt electric vehicles. Obstacles to electrification include long charging times, power limitations, and space constraints in dense Japanese cities. Battery swapping provides a fast and convenient way to power EVs, similar to the refueling experience at a gas station. Importantly, the Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation (MFTBC) and Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) will bring their innovation and leadership in electric vehicles to the demonstration. MFTBC is known for its leadership role advancing zero emission commercial vehicles. MMC pioneered one of the world's first mass-produced EVs and is a trusted mobility provider for urban logistics.
Ample manufactures and operates a modular battery swapping ecosystem which fully charges EVs in five minutes, providing fleet operators with a seamless alternative to gas-powered fueling stations. Ample's modular batteries are designed to be a drop-in replacement for the original EV battery, making the technology compatible with most EV models. The company's compact, rapidly deployable stations can be installed in just a few days, providing a practical solution for high-utilization vehicles operating in dense urban environments like Tokyo.
3039032997
SOURCE: Ample
Copyright Business Wire 2025.
PUB: 03/19/2025 07:35 PM/DISC: 03/19/2025 07:35 PM

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

OKI and NTT Innovative Devices Establish Mass Production Technology for High-Power Terahertz Devices by Heterogeneous Material Bonding
OKI and NTT Innovative Devices Establish Mass Production Technology for High-Power Terahertz Devices by Heterogeneous Material Bonding

Business Wire

timean hour ago

  • Business Wire

OKI and NTT Innovative Devices Establish Mass Production Technology for High-Power Terahertz Devices by Heterogeneous Material Bonding

TOKYO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--OKI (TOKYO: 6703) , in collaboration with NTT Innovative Devices Corporation (Headquarters: Kanagawa Prefecture; President & CEO: Hidehiro Tsukano; 'NTT Innovative Devices' hereinafter), has established mass production technology for high-power terahertz devices using crystal film bonding (CFB) (Note 1) technology for heterogeneous material bonding to bond indium phosphide (InP)-based uni-traveling carrier photodiodes (UTC-PD) (Note 2) onto silicon carbide (SiC) with excellent heat dissipation characteristics for improved bonding yields. Terahertz devices are anticipated to play a core technology role in supporting high-capacity low-latency communications for the next-generation 6G communication standard and high-precision non-destructive inspection for improved safety. Based on these results, both companies are working on product development, aiming to start mass production in FY2026. This co-creation work has established mass production technology for high-power terahertz devices and made real-world implementation a reality. Terahertz waves are electromagnetic waves in the range between radio waves and visible light, having both the penetrating characteristics of radio waves and the straight-line propagation of light. Due to their non-invasiveness (Note 3) to the living body, which is a problem with X-ray inspection technology, terahertz waves are anticipated to be developed for applications in fields including non-destructive inspection and security. In wireless communication applications, higher carrier frequencies contribute to increased communication capacity. On the other hand, terahertz waves have the drawback of being significantly attenuated in the atmosphere, creating the need for the development of high-power terahertz devices. Establishing mass production technologies is also essential to moving forward with real-world implementation. To address these challenges, NTT Innovative Devices has been working to improve the performances (output power, output spectrum and so on) of the UTC-photomixers (Note 4). Particularly in wireless communications, to propagate standard multilevel modulation signals (Note 5) over long distances, it is essential to achieve high output power at 1dB compression (Note 6). In order to achieve the high output power at 1dB compression, NTT Innovative Devices and a Japanese university team focused on the heat dissipation characteristics of the device and studied the technology of bonding InP-based UTC-PDs directly onto SiC with high heat dissipation characteristics (Note 7). It paved the way to realize UTC-photomixers offering an approximately ten-fold performance increase (the output power at 1dB compression exceeding 1 mW) compared to conventional devices. In wafer bonding, due to the large bonding area, even a minute bonding defect at one location can cause a bonding failure over a large area. Therefore, more advanced bonding technology is required for mass production. For UTC-PD on SiC chip, material cost (effective use of materials) is also a demanding improvement item, because the required InP area is less than 10% of the area in the chip. OKI applied CFB technology to divide the InP-based crystal films on the InP-based epitaxial wafers at the device level, selectively picking up only the portions necessary for device operation before bonding them to the SiC wafers by heterogeneous material bonding. CFB technology, OKI's proprietary heterogeneous material bonding technology developed in the printer market and refined about 20 years of mass production, has already established high yields. The process also offers high efficiency, since InP-based crystal films divided at the device level are bonded all together at wafer-size scales. The results of evaluating the yield of devices bonded using CFB technology show dramatically higher yields in the bonding process, with the bonding yield improving from approximately 50% to nearly 100% compared to conventional processes. Additionally, dividing the crystal films at the device level and selectively bonding the devices has made it possible to make effective use of the crystal films that were previously discarded with conventional processes, helping to reduce costs and environmental impact by improving material utilization efficiency. NTT Innovative Devices developed chips by forming UTC-PDs in the device process on SiC wafers with crystal films bonded using CFB technology. The results of device evaluations following chip development showed an output power at 1dB compression exceeding 1 mW in a single device, demonstrating high output and excellent linearity. Compared to devices produced using conventional bonding processes, dark current (Note 8) was reduced to approximately one-third, confirming that the process using CFB technology is capable of bonding while effectively maintaining the characteristics of InP-based crystal films. This co-creation work has established mass production technology for high-power terahertz devices and made real-world implementation a reality. Moving forward, both companies will build on the results of this joint research to start mass production of terahertz devices in FY2026 and strengthen collaboration with industry and academia to focus on commercializing 6G communication technologies and the broad application of non-destructive sensing technologies. Both companies will also draw on the jointly developed technology to accelerate efforts to contribute to a next-generation society, communicating to the world advanced technologies for both Japanese and global markets. NTT Innovative Devices will exhibit this technology at Laser World of Photonics 2025 (Hall B2.331) to be held in Munich, Germany from June 24 to 27, 2025. [Terminology] Note 1: crystal film bonding (CFB) Acronym for crystal film bonding. OKI's proprietary heterogeneous material bonding technology involving lifting off crystal films and bonding them to substrates or wafers made of different materials. Heterogeneous material bonding is characterized by direct bonding without using adhesives. Note 2: Uni-traveling carrier photodiode (UTC-PD) The uni-traveling-carrier photodiode (UTC-PD) is a kind of pin junction photodiode that selectively uses electrons as active carriers. UTC-PD could operate faster and with much wider output linearity simply by excluding the hole transport contribution to the diode operation. Note 3: Invasiveness The degree of physical burden imposed on a patient's or subject's body during treatment or examination. Note 4: UTC-Photomixer UTC photomixer is the name of the module that applies UTC-PD to RF (THz) signal generation. 2λ laser (frequency difference: THz) are injected into the photomixer, and optical beat generate THz wave. Introduction of UTC structure allows significant THz output improvement and extension to higher frequencies. Note 5: Multilevel modulation signal A modulation method used in digital communications whereby, unlike conventional binary (0 and 1) signals, 4-, 8-, or 16-level signals are used, allowing to carry more information per modulation Note 6: Output power at 1dB compression In general, it is one of the parameters of amplifier characteristics. As the input level to the amplifier increases, the output becomes saturated and deviates from the linear relationship. The output signal level at 1 dB below the linear relationship is called the 1 dB compression point. In the same way, in an ideal photomixer, the THz output signal is proportional to the input light level, but in high light input operation, this linear relationship deviates. Note 7: NTT Innovative Devices and a Japanese university team This result was based in part on research conducted by The University of Osaka, Kyushu University, and The University of Tokyo under commission from the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT), Japan; Beyond 5G R&D Promotion Program (JPJ012368C-00901). Note 8: Dark current Small current generated by a light receiving element in the absence of light. Since this constitutes unwanted noise, a lower dark current means improved device sensitivity. About Oki Electric Industry (OKI) Founded in 1881, OKI is Japan's leading information and telecommunication manufacturer. Headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, OKI provides top-quality products, technologies, and solutions to customers through its Public Solutions, Enterprise Solutions, Component Products, and Electronics Manufacturing Services businesses. Its various business divisions function synergistically to bring to market exciting new products and technologies that meet a wide range of customer needs in various sectors. Visit OKI's global website at Notes: - Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd. is referred to as "OKI" in this document. - The names of the companies and products mentioned in this document are the trademarks or registered trademarks of the respective companies and organizations.

SoftBank reportedly looking to launch a trillion-dollar AI and robotics industrial complex
SoftBank reportedly looking to launch a trillion-dollar AI and robotics industrial complex

Yahoo

timean hour ago

  • Yahoo

SoftBank reportedly looking to launch a trillion-dollar AI and robotics industrial complex

SoftBank is going all in on AI. Just months after announcing its involvement in the $500 billion Stargate AI Infrastructure project, of which SoftBank is rumored to be fronting a cool $19 billion, the Japanese investing conglomerate is reportedly looking to launch its largest AI project yet. The company is looking to team up with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) to launch a trillion-dollar industrial complex in Arizona to build AI and robotics, according to reporting from Bloomberg, citing sources familiar with the project. The initiative, dubbed Project Crystal Land, appears to still be in its very early stages. Despite SoftBank's desire to work with TSMC on the project, it's unclear what TSMC's role would be, according to Bloomberg, or if it would be interested in joining forces with SoftBank at all — TSMC already has its own AI infrastructure projects in Arizona in the works. TechCrunch reached out to SoftBank for more information.

Dear Tesla Stock Fans, Mark Your Calendars for June 30
Dear Tesla Stock Fans, Mark Your Calendars for June 30

Yahoo

time3 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Dear Tesla Stock Fans, Mark Your Calendars for June 30

Tesla (TSLA) shares are in focus following reports the electric vehicle maker plans on temporarily suspending production of its Cybertruck and Model Y at its Austin factory. According to Business Insider, the company will pause production on June 30 and will resume it in the following week. TSLA will use that time to perform maintenance on production lines that it believes will help accelerate production in the second half of 2025. 3 ETFs with Dividend Yields of 12% or Higher for Your Income Portfolio Nvidia Is Quickly Approaching a New Record High. Is It Too Late to Buy NVDA Stock? Unusually Active Put Options Signal Long Straddle Opportunity After Zoetis Downgrade Stop Missing Market Moves: Get the FREE Barchart Brief – your midday dose of stock movers, trending sectors, and actionable trade ideas, delivered right to your inbox. Sign Up Now! Including today's price action, Tesla stock is up some 54% versus its year-to-date low set on April 8. While the temporary production shutdown announced sounds concerning at first, it could be a precursor to something positive for TSLA shares. Tesla has framed the pause as part of a broader effort to enhance manufacturing efficiency, which is particularly important for the Cybertruck given it's faced a slower-than-expected production ramp since its launch. Any sign that the EV maker is preparing to increase output, especially for its high-margin vehicles, could boost investor sentiment and revenue expectations for the back half of this year. Together, this could drive the Tesla stock price up further in the months ahead. Despite a notable rally in the EV stock since early April, Cantor Fitzgerald analysts led by Andres Sheppard remain fully convinced that TSLA is not out of juice just yet. Sheppard expects the automaker's expected launch of robotaxi services in Austin this weekend to unlock significant further upside in Tesla shares. Note that the Nasdaq-listed firm plans on rolling out a 'Cybercab' without a steering wheel in 2026 as well. Additionally, the company's work on its Optimus humanoid robot that is scheduled for customer deliveries in 2027 offers another compelling reason to own TSLA stock for the long term, the analyst concluded. Sheppard currently has a $355 price target on Tesla, indicating potential upside of roughly 10%. Other Wall Street analysts have dialed down expectations for Tesla stock in 2025. The consensus rating on TSLA currently sits at 'Hold' only with the mean target of about $292 indicating potential downside of 10% from here. On the date of publication, Wajeeh Khan did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. This article was originally published on Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store