Because it can take EVs a while to charge, more companies are looking into battery swaps as a quicker alternative for people on the go. Now, Honda will have two of its own battery swap stations — one in Tokyo and one in Osaka.
Earlier this year, Japan’s four major OEMs (Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki, and Yamaha) formed the company Gachaco with the petroleum company Eneos to advance the adoption of standardized swappable batteries. Then, in October, Honda unveiled its Power Pack Exchanger e:, the brand’s multi-battery charging station for charging Honda’s Mobile Power Pack e: batteries. Once the exchanger was prepped, Gachaco took over the process of making them available to the public.
During the demonstration period for these two battery swap stations, Gachaco will collect and analyze data to learn about how to most effectively deploy future charging infrastructure to help the most people.
While the Tokyo location will have business hours set for 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., the Osaka location will be open 24 hours a day. The latter seems much more practical for a wider variety of drivers, so we’re interested to see what data Gachaco pulls from this demonstration period.
Gachago Houses Honda Battery Change Stations
SOURCE | IMAGES: RIDEAPART
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