Honda has begun sales of its battery swapping station, the “Honda Power Pack Exchanger e:”, with the first unit delivered to battery sharing joint venture Gachaco and already in operation.
The Gachaco joint venture was formed earlier this year between Honda, Eneos Holdings, Kawasaki Motors, Suzuki, and Yamaha Motor, and aims to provide a standardised swappable battery sharing service for electric motorcycles.
The battery swapping station can simultaneously charge multiple units of the Honda Mobile Power Pack e: (MPP e:), and has its its own battery supply so it can continue charging and renting batteries in the event of a power outage or emergency.
Source: Honda
To swap batteries, users need only tap the upper part of the unit with their IC card for user authentication. The unit then uses an LED display to alert the user which fully-charged batteries are appropriate to be used.
In addition to deliveries to Gachaco, Honda has also delivered the Exchanger to its Indian subsidiary for use with electric tricycle taxis.
Joshua S. Hill is a Melbourne-based journalist who has been writing about climate change, clean technology, and electric vehicles for over 15 years. He has been reporting on electric vehicles and clean technologies for Renew Economy and The Driven since 2012. His preferred mode of transport is his feet.