Worth the wait: battery swap standards promise huge benefits

Motorcycles and scooters offer an affordable and convenient means of transportation within crowded urban areas. Moving from gasoline and diesel engines to battery electric propulsion also ticks the sustainability box and could become increasingly important as cities implement tighter emission controls. Unlike electric cars and trucks, which rely heavily on plug-in charging stations, electric two-wheelers (2W) are leading the way in battery swap technology. Swap stations offer a quick and easy means of replacing a depleted battery with a fully charged one. The biggest obstacle at the moment is interoperability between different 2W brands and battery swap stations.

The Swappable Batteries Motorcycle Consortium (SBMC) launched in 2021 with the aim of developing a common standard. Progress has been rapid over the past three years as the consortium attracts new members and engages with influential standards organisations. Takeshi Higuchi, Chair of the SBMC Steering Committee and part of the marketing department at founding member Yamaha, believes that 2W battery swap has a promising future in all markets.