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Japanese BIG 4 motorcycle firms agree to share E-battery technology

Melensdad

Melensdad

Jerk in a Hawaiian Shirt & SNOWCAT Moderator
Staff member
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While moto makers ZERO and HD are building e-bikes with giant batteries that need to be parked and recharged, the Japanese companies are taking a different approach.

Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki and Suzuki have agree to share battery SWAP technology where any brand can run off the other brand's battery. Swapping stations would be tested in various locations in Japan. This type of system may work well in crowded cities, university towns, etc.

I would expect/hope that there would also be a 'standardized' charging cable for use at Tesla and other charging stations???

https://advrider.com/japanese-moto-manufacturers-testing-shared-battery-bike-technology/

The Big Four are working together on electric motorcycle technology, but we haven’t heard much about the manufacturers’ progress. That might change soon, as the Japanese manufacturers have announced a testing program to run at Osaka University.

In 2019, Kawasaki, Honda, Yamaha and Suzuki announced a team-up to work on electric motorcycle technology. Instead of all four OEMs competing with different designs, they’d work together on a common battery shared by all the companies. This would make battery quick-swap technology more practical.

Since that announcement, we haven’t really seen any progress on the project—no doubt COVID-19 had something to do with that. Now, MCN is reporting the Big Four have finally started up a year-long test of their shared battery design, run at Osaka University. Supposedly, students and staff at the university will have access to a fleet of electric scooters, with quick-swap batteries available on campus and at nearby convenience stores. This will allow riders to simply remove a depleted battery and drop in a fully-charged replacement, instead of setting their scooters aside for hours to recharge. Obviously, that’s far more convenient for someone who’s on the go.

The three factors holding back electric motorcycles are recharge times and lack of battery range, with high MSRPs also hampering sales. Quick-swap batteries will somewhat address the first two issues, as riders would be able to have fresh batteries as quickly as a fill-up at the gas pumps on a standard bike. The collaboration between the OEMs means we might see that tech come to market more quickly, and it also means it might not be as high-priced, as the manufacturers can share development expenses. The Big Four have all been developing their own electric bike designs for years, even building quick-swap battery designs (Honda, in particular, really pushed this tech forward). But, it’s been a slow process—hopefully this university project moves the scene forward.
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FrancSevin

FrancSevin

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It would also work well in autos.

In fact, an easily exchanged battery system would allow fuel stations like QT and others swap a charged battery pack for a dead one in less time than filling a 20 gallon gasoline tank at the pump.

The car design had a Torque tube that went from the front bumper to the back bumper and was sealed. Push a new battery in the front as the old one came out the back. All components of the car, suspension, drive and body, were mounted to the outside of the aluminum tube. Motors were in each wheel. The key element was that the battery pack did not belong to the car but the fuel companies.

Such a system was devised in 1973 and presented to Shell oil and Sears. They rejected it. The technology at the time limited mileage to about 60 miles but had this idea been adopted, I'm sure battery technology would have scaled up to meet the demand.

As it was, there was little reason to improve batteries. No market for it at the time.

There was also a prohibitive capital cost to the idea

I believe, just as fueling stations and gasoline technology was made common for all makes of automobiles, so also may come the day when electric vehicles have common/interchangeable battery systems.
 
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