While electric cars like the Nissan Leaf are capable of providing over 300 km of range on a single charge, electric scooters and motorcycles, which are generally smaller in size, are at a bit of a disadvantage.
Range anxiety still remains a concern among those considering to make the switch to electric vehicles, but Gogoro is looking to make electric two-wheelers more appealing with its easily swappable battery packs that are paired to a network of charging stations throughout its native Taiwan.
The company, which also produces its own vehicles, recently spun off its open battery charging platform to become a separate entity known as Gogoro Network in the hopes of widening the adoption of the system by other electric two-wheeler brands.
The aim here is to create a shared battery-swapping standard that makes it less complicated for the public, who have to deal with a bevy of proprietary battery and charging situations. So far, the company has already partnered up with Aeon, PGO, and Yamaha for them to use its system.
Just like the good old days where you are able to change a smartphone’s battery in a matter of seconds, users simply need to find a Gogoro station, login with a smartphone app or via NFC, replace the vehicle’s battery with a fresh one, and place the depleted unit back into the station for it to be recharged.
According to the company, a swap only takes six seconds, and the stations are open 24 hours a day. It adds that the batteries are durable and offer up to 110 km of range on single charge, which is plenty given its application. Vehicle monitoring and energy usage data are other features of the smart batteries.
Given the sheer number of scooters and motorcycles that are powered by fossil fuels in our part of the world, this technology certainly makes it more viable to propagate the switch to electric power. Interesting, don’t you think?
Not going to be viable here as some genius who kept demanding for local EV vehicles will be making his own EV car powered by AA batteries. Watch this space.
With our third world rempit mindset and culture, it’ll likely be either vandalised or worse, stolen. Our society lack social conscienceness.
We’re not ready for this kind of concept yet. Heck, our drivers can’t even park properly or use signals before changing lanes.
how heavy is the battery ? 10 kg ?
Please bring Gogoro into Malaysia and get all 7-11 or KK to equip with the battery swapping station.