A consortium of Japanese vehicle OEMs will make batteries and replacement systems that can be swapped between all four of the member’s electric motorcycles.
The Swappable Battery Consortium for Electric Motorcycles has reached an agreement to allow battery sharing across brands to pave the way for the increased adoption of electric motorcycles in Japan.
The Consortium was established in 2019 by Honda Motor, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Suzuki Motor Corporation and Yamaha Motor.
The Consortium will conduct technical verification and standardisation of mutual-use swappable batteries, based on whether previously agreed common specifications are compliant with the Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan, Inc. Organization (JASO) technical paper TP21003, issued on 19 March.
The Consortium has been formulating the standards for mutual-use swappable batteries and their replacement systems as a solution to the issues— namely range and charge time— that have prevented widespread adoption of electric motorcycles.
To establish the convenience and effectiveness of mutual-use swappable batteries, the Consortium has been cooperating with the “e-Yan OSAKA” field tests.
The tests were conducted by the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association’s Electric Motorcycle Promotion Subcommittee in collaboration with Osaka Prefecture and Osaka University.
The Consortium will now work with the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association to realise international mutual-use (international standardisation) batteries.
Noriaki Abe, Consortium representative secretary, and managing officer, motorcycle operations at Honda Motor, said: “We will continue cooperation to build an environment allowing battery mutual-use based on our agreement. We will also be competing with each other to develop attractive products that meet the needs of our customers. Through our efforts in both cooperation and competition, we will work towards the widespread adoption of electric motorcycles to realise a sustainable society.”