KTM, Honda, Piaggio, and Yamaha have officially signed an agreement that proves the four companies to be in full tilt toward creating a battery swapping system for the moto community.
Together, they make up the founding members of the Swappable Batteries Motorcycle Consortium (SBMC) – a syndicate passionate about renewable energy and how it could impact the future of the current fossil fuel industry that we have come to know and love.
According to a recent KTM press release, the SBMC believes that the easiest way to get everybody out of the old age of gas-powered traditional vehicles (and into the world of full electrification) is by making batteries cheaper, recyclable, comparable, and more accessible to the consumer – a challenge in today’s limitations.
Their signing of the Letter of Intent happened on March first of this year, so the speed at which all four companies have signed the agreement proves that they plan on making headway with these challenges as quickly as possible.
Representatives of KTM, Honda, Piaggio Group, and Yamaha (members of the SBMC) signing the agreement to begin the creation of a new battery-swapping system and charging network.Altogether, the Consortium has four goals:
- To Develop common technical specifications of the swappable battery systems, streamlining production.
- To Confirm common usage of the battery systems, ensuring that the project will be in high demand.
- To Make and promote the Consortium’s common specifications (as) a standard within European and International standardization bodies.
- To Expand the use of the Consortium’s common specification on a global scale.
The focus will be placed for now on micro-mobility machines, or light electric vehicles (such as scooters, mopeds, tricycles, etc.), with the eventual long-term goal of branching out to larger models as technology continues to adapt.
This leap of faith is no lightweight matter, especially given that National, European and International standardization bodies will be looking closely to determine if the project continues to be in the best interest of both the community and the stakeholders invested in the system.
Availability of the system (and the charging network) will vary depending on the country, as SBMC is still in the process of ironing that out with their stakeholders; however, we can expect multiple updates in the coming year, as the creation phase has just been given the green light for full speed ahead with the signing of the final contract.
Stay tuned for updates, and as always – stay safe on the twisties!