[d--b]

The thing is that anything's that's in a car gets subjected to pretty intense mechanical and thermal stress. Your thing needs to work in a [-40C,+60C] temperature range, while going over bumping roads. A small accident like someone running into you at a red light should not disrupt the connection of the batteries.

You need to maintain a rock solid connection from balls to the car, while also allowing them to move freely when at the charging station.

And then you have all the battery swap problems. And you still need a universal standard for the balls themselves.

It's a cool idea, but forget about it.

[jones1618]

Exactly. I'd add to that the introduction of dust or debris into the physical system. If a stick or leaf or bit of tinfoil wrapper got in between battery balls, they could disrupt the connection or, worse, short the connection and create a fire hazard.

Also, any physical recycling/reclamation system has two disadvantages 1) capital investment in "balls" by the vendor (larger than just investment in a static power station) and 2) theft/vandalism prevention i.e. you've got prevent users swapping fake, damaged or substandard "balls" for good ones. Image a gang of ball thieves swapping 3D-printed balls filled with clay for good ones and reselling them. Or, imagine terrorists/vandals introducing fake balls filled w/ fireworks to destroy your charging stations or (if clever enough to pass as real) redistribute balls to sabotage unsuspecting cars.