GENERAL NEWS

CHARGING ALONG

SWAPPABLE MOTORCYCLE BATTERIES SCHEME IS TAKING OFF IN JAPAN!

BY Lucy England ON 10 November 2022

The idea of battery swapping for electric vehicles, rather than the lengthy process of charging up, has been in the air for a while as a theory rather than a reality. Now, however, that prospect seems a little closer, as a battery sharing service has been launched in Tokyo for electric motorcycles with removable batteries.

The idea is that this will encourage people to choose electric motorcycles and therefore help towards their lower environmental impact and meeting zero emissions targets in the future. Currently it is thought that people are being put off by the lengthy charging process and this practical concern is deterring them from opting for electric machines.

So in Tokyo they have launched a system of fifteen battery stations which will be set up around the city to allow users to take out and swap their tired low battery for a fully charged one, in a matter of minutes. Users will need to be registered to use the swap stations and the battery stations are expected to increase in number and spread further out across the country once the scheme is fully adopted. Eventually this will allow riders of electric motorcycles to travel more widely in and outside cities, with battery swap stations in position across the whole country.

The batteries in use for this system will be standard so that they are interchangeable between machines whatever the make. Four major motorcycle manufacturers (including Honda) have already agreed to standardised batteries, so that riders of these machines will all be able to participate in this scheme.

Swappable batteries are already in use in Japan, but so far only for corporate vehicles, but this is set to change as personal use machines join the scheme in the near future.

The local government in Tokyo wants to be completely petrol free for the sale of new vehicles by 2035, so this is a step along that way, easing the wheels of electric progress.

At the launch ceremony the governor of Tokyo, Yuriko Koike, said:
"We hope that supportiing the instalment of battery stations will accelerate the wider use of electric motorcycles"

This seems like a good idea, if electric motorcycles are going to be adopted, then this looks like a more sensible method of charging them rather than plug in and hang around for ages when you trying to get from A to B.
What do you think of this scheme? Would it encourage you to get an electric motorcycle?
Let us know your thoughts at [email protected] or send us a message on Facebook