By Paul Lienert and Nick Carey (Reuters) – Battery swapping – replacing a depleted battery with a freshly charged one – is not new: The first experiments with exchanging batteries in electric cars date to America’s Gilded Age in the late 1890s, according to industrial historian David A. Kirsch. Here is a timeline of key events in the development of battery swapping: 1896: Auto pioneers consider the exchange of depleted batteries with fresh ones as a way to extend the operating range of early rudimentary electric vehicles, from streetcars to delivery trucks. 1912: General Electric Co teams up w…