Project purpose and Description
E-motorbikes have emerged as agile, easy to park, and sustainable means of transport in cities. Nevertheless, their higher price and lack of fast charging compared to ICE motorbikes, continuously pose large barriers that still need to be overcome.
ECOSWAP aims to foster the adoption of e-motorbikes through the deployment of a battery-swapping ecosystem that enables new commercialization models. These models remove the cost of the battery from the purchase and offer to the customer a convenient battery-swapping service, with enough capillarity. The interoperability for different brands, the use of the infrastructure by moto-sharing companies, the recyclability of the ecosystem, and the involvement of third parties as scalability enablers and economic opportunities for small local commerce will be developed.
The project will test and validate different business models in three pilots: Barcelona and Sant Boi in 2022 (Metropolitan Area of Barcelona) and Verona in 2023.
Objectives and Outcomes
Project’s main outcome is the deployment of a pilot network of battery-swapping stations that will eventually become a permanent new infrastructure. With this new network, several objectives will be achieved:
– Boost electric motorbike usage as fast charging (swap) will be quick and easy.
– Easier moto-sharing charging operations as swapping stations will be nearer.
– Lower purchase prices for new electric motorbikes as the new business models will contemplate different kinds of battery ownership.
– Environmental benefits both from the usage of electric vehicles and thanks to the recycling of old batteries.
