Honda, Panasonic team up for swappable electric motorbike batteries
Honda and Panasonic on Friday announced plans for a new battery partnership focusing on creating and distributing packs that enable convenient swapping. The agreement isn’t for automobiles, however — it’s for…

From the Energy Metal News archive. This article dates from Jul 14, 2018 and is preserved as first published.
Honda and Panasonic on Friday announced plans for a new battery partnership focusing on creating and distributing packs that enable convenient swapping. The agreement isn’t for automobiles, however — it’s for electric motorcycles and other battery-powered mobility devices.
The deal, which is being classified as a “research experiment” by the two conglomerates, will take place in Indonesia. The venue is appropriate: Indonesia is not only the third-largest motorcycle market on the globe, but is wracked by pollution issues as a result.
The deal, which is being classified as a “research experiment” by the two conglomerates, will take place in Indonesia.
The program’s rollout, which kicks off this December, will include establishing charging stations at “several dozen locations.” The stations (a concept version of which is shown above) will be capable of charging a number of Mobile Power Pack batteries concurrently. The idea is that users of Honda products like electric motorcycles and scooters will be able to stop at the most convenient station when their battery is depleted and simply swap it out for a full pack.
Honda and Panasonic on Friday announced plans for a new battery partnership focusing on creating and distributing packs that enable convenient swapping. The agreement isn’t for automobiles, however — it’s for electric motorcycles and other battery-powered mobility devices.
The deal, which is being classified as a “research experiment” by the two conglomerates, will take place in Indonesia. The venue is appropriate: Indonesia is not only the third-largest motorcycle market on the globe, but is wracked by pollution issues as a result.
The program’s rollout, which kicks off this December, will include establishing charging stations at “several dozen locations.” The stations (a concept version of which is shown above) will be capable of charging a number of Mobile Power Pack batteries concurrently. The idea is that users of Honda products like electric motorcycles and scooters will be able to stop at the most convenient station when their battery is depleted and simply swap it out for a full pack.


