Following the signing of the letter of intent March 1, YAMAHA Motor Co., Ltd., HONDA Motor Co., Ltd., KTM F&E GmbH and PIAGGIO Group (PIA.MI) officially signed the agreement to establish the Interchangeable Motorcycle Battery Consortium (SBMC).
Committed to promoting the widespread use of light electric vehicles (such as mopeds, scooters, motorcycles, tricycles and quadricycles) and at the same time, to a more sustainable management of the life cycle of batteries within the framework of international climate policies , the founding members of the Consortium believe that the availability of a commonly developed exchangeable battery system is the key to the development of low-voltage electromobility.
The underlying goal of the Consortium is to find solutions to customer concerns about the future of electromobility, such as range, time, charging infrastructure and costs.
This objective will be achieved in accordance with four main objectives:
1. Develop common technical specifications for interchangeable battery systems
2. Confirm common use of battery systems
3. Promote and ensure that the Consortium's common specifications become a standard within European and international standardization organizations
4. Expand the use of the Consortium's common specification globally.
Working closely with interested stakeholders and national, European and international standards bodies, the founding members of the Consortium will be involved in the creation of international technical standards.
Indeed, the availability of charging stations varies by country and information for end users is still limited. Thus, with this Consortium, YAMAHA, HONDA, KTM and PIAGGIO aim to engage decision-makers for the development and deployment of charging infrastructure and to increase the use of light electric vehicles.
The four founding members encourage all interested stakeholders to join the cooperation to enrich the expertise of the Consortium to ensure wide distribution of standard exchangeable batteries in the future.
Parties interested in joining the SBMC can contact one of the founding members for more information.
Takuya Kinoshita, Senior Executive Officer, Chief General Manager of Land Mobility Business Operations, Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. : “ The Swappable Batteries Motorcycle Consortium in Europe is finally ready to get to work. I hope this first step forward will be a beacon that attracts like-minded parties to our mission and leads to change for the future. At Yamaha Motor, we are confident that through this initiative we can help unify the different technical specifications and standards, and thus contribute to maximizing the merits of electric power for customers around the world. »
Yoshishige nomura, General Manager of Motorcycle Operations, Honda Motor Co., Ltd. : “ Honda believes that the widespread adoption of electric motorcycles can play an important role in achieving a more sustainable society. To this end, we need to solve several challenges such as extending range, reducing charging time and lowering vehicle and infrastructure costs to improve convenience for customers. In the Consortium we have created, founding members of the motorcycle industry and other stakeholders will work together to standardize swappable batteries, their charging systems and surrounding infrastructure to create the right environment for their use . Our ultimate goal is to ensure that motorcycles continue to be chosen as a useful means of transportation in future mobility. »
Stefan pierer, CEO of PIERER Mobility AG: “ The signing of this consortium agreement is a key step in ensuring that PIERER Mobility AG can continue to move forward, innovate at pace and advance its strategic vision for electric two-wheelers. Together with our partners, we will work to provide an exchangeable battery system for low voltage (48 V) vehicles up to 11 kW capacity, based on international technical standards. We look forward to ensuring that motorized two-wheelers retain their role in the future of urban and non-urban mobility. »
Michele Colaninno, Head of Strategy and Products of the Piaggio Group: “ Urban mobility is going through a delicate moment of transition towards electrification. Thanks to our Consortium, which represents four major global players, the motorcycle will continue to play a key role in the urban context. Interchangeable batteries provide the right answer to speed up vehicle charging time providing valuable additional choice for users. Urban mobility is part of Piaggio's DNA and history: our objective is to bring all our technological know-how and our desire for innovation to the Consortium. » For further information, please contact the National Press Officer. »
