To date, there have been over 151 million battery swaps, an average of 2.8 per second.
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Imagine being asked to design and build a totally new, green energy infrastructure for an entire country — from scratch.
This was the goal given to Gogoro Network (GN) General Manager Alan Pan (潘璟倫) by Gogoro founder and CEO Horace Luke (陸學森). Sitting down for an interview with Taiwan News, Pan described some of the issues electric scooters faced before Gogoro, including limited charging solutions due to lack of space in Taiwan and high battery and maintenance costs.
The battery alone accounted for as much as a third to one half of an electric scooter’s price tag, which when combined with the cost of replacing the battery every two to three years presented a significant hurdle to the widespread adoption of e-scooters. This led Gogoro to come up with a rather ingenious solution: the swappable battery station, or GoStation.
After developing the GoStation, Gogoro ran into another issue: how to sell battery-powered electric scooters without an energy system in place. So Pan was transferred to the energy services department and tasked with building GN.
With safety, reliability, scalability, and replicability in mind, Pan and his colleagues designed an open, wireless platform applicable to any city or country looking for innovative energy and transportation solutions.
Source: Taiwan News Read The Article
PSR Analysis: Two key challenges impacting the adoption of electric vehicles are range anxiety and charging time. Gogoro has addressed these issues by implementing a comprehensive plan that meets the needs of consumers in an affordable and practical way. By establishing their Gogoro Network (GN) nationwide, Gogoro has enabled riders in Taiwan to travel freely around the island without the fear of being stranded, and with the confidence that recharging during their journey will not result in long delays.
The Gogoro Network is an excellent example of developing infrastructure in concert with new products to achieve viability. Too often new product designs fail to incorporate practical factors and thereby never make it to market. And, in this field, excessive analysis over which charging method is best – fast-charge versus battery swapping – can delay decisions for years.
By committing to the battery swapping model, implementing it within a relatively small regional network, then investing the proper time and money to be sure all regulatory and technical hurdles were addressed, Gogoro was able to prove the concept in a matter of several years. That has now expanded nationwide to become a model for OEMs, battery makers, government agencies and forward thinkers to consider.
Success in the alternative energy world requires cooperation. Gogoro has partnered with several top motorcycle and scooter OEMs and a growing logistics firm to establish a critical mass for GN. Now, in cooperation with Taipower, Gogoro is working on expanding into the Vehicle to Grid (V2G) power sharing model. Such V2X technology is an important factor in the development of smart cities and may prove to be a vital part of the long-term power generation solution. Continued innovation will ensure Gogoro remains a principal player for years to come. PSR
Erik Martin is Director – Asia Region, for Power Systems Research.
