Honda has installed its first EV battery exchange station in Tokyo through a partnership with battery sharing service Gachaco. The debut of the Honda Power Pack Exchanger e in Tokyo marks the beginning of what Honda hopes will be a large network of battery swapping stations in Japan, where riders can quickly and easily exchange their EV motorcycle’s depleted batteries.
The concept of a battery swapping station was hardly pioneered by Honda, however, as the Verge reports. Taiwanese scooter company Gogoro has been using similar technology for years, even partnering up with Hero in India to make battery exchange stations viable. The company plans to make battery swapping commonplace in one of the largest two-wheeler markets in the world.
The Honda Power Pack Exchanger e can store and charge up to 12 batteries, but can be expanded to fit more in cities or locations where a dozen batteries wouldn’t be enough. The idea is to provide a flow of battery packs, as riders pull up and swap spent cells for fresh ones. As soon as riders deposit a battery pack into the Exchanger e:, the station automatically begins recharging the battery. Doing so will take about five hours in total, which is a long time to wait, but riders would never know it.