Honda has recently set up an EV battery exchange station in Tokyo, Japan. Honda hopes to create a large network of battery exchange stations in Japan called Honda Power Pack Exchanger e:. Electric motorcycle riders can easily exchange their empty batteries for charged ones at the new stations.
The original concept was not created by Honda. A scooter company in Taiwan called Gogoro has been using similar technology for some years. Gogoro also partnered with the company Hero in India and brought the technology there.
The Honda Power Pack Exchanger e: can store and charge up to 12 batteries for motorcycles. The charging station can also be expanded for locations with more traffic.
The system is designed so that a motorcycle rider can park, remove the empty battery from their bike and replace it with a fully charged one from the station. The rider then leaves the empty battery in the charging station to be charged and used by the next rider. One battery takes about five hours to charge, but motorcycle riders won’t have to wait.
Honda says it will make the system easy to use. Electric motorcycle riders can access fully charged batteries with NFC on their smartphone or a separate card.
Japan’s biggest motorcycle companies, Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki and Kawasaki, have agreed to use the same type of batteries in their motorcycles to speed up the transition to electric. They’ve come together to create a company called Gachaco that is part of Honda’s Mobile Power Pack e: battery sharing service.
VOCABULARY
- Set up – establish a business or other organization; start; build; construct; make
- EV – electric vehicle
- Network – a large number of things that have a connection with each other and work together as a system
- Rider – a person who rides a bike or motorcycle
- Charged (charged battery) – a battery that has power/electricity in it
- Original – the first one made and not a copy; the origin or beginning;
- Concept – an idea or thought; a plan;
- Scooter – 🛵 ; a small motorcycle
- Partner – to join/work with another person or organization in a business activity
- Store – to keep; to hold; stow
- Expand – to increase in size or number; to open out; spread
- Location – an area; a place; a fixed place or position in space; where something is
- Remove – to take out; to take away from or take off
- Bike – a bicycle or motorcycle
- Replace – to take the place of; to substitute; to come after; to fill in
- Access – to be able to use, enter, or get near something; use a service
- NFC (near field communication) – wireless technology
- Speed up – move or happen faster; cause something to move or happen more quickly
- Transition – a change from one thing to the next
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