Gogoro's Battery Vision
Electric automation has become increasingly popular over the past decade; mainly a result of companies such as Tesla, Google, and Apple promoting a vision of renewable power funding consumer electrics. More recently this style of propulsion has been reapplied to smaller forms of transport: the motorbike.
Gogoro is an electric motorbike company, founded by Horace Luke and Matt Taylor in 2011, whose unique feature is their charging network. Across Taiwan, Gogoro has 1,282 ‘Smart Power GoStations’. The Gogoro bikes are fitted with two removable batteries of a range of up to 110km, which can be removed, and exchanged for at GoStations. The charging station will produce two fully charged replacement batteries which can immediately be placed into your bike.
Gogoro’s charging feature makes electric charging a realistic and manageable reality. The 24 hour stations mean that fresh power is accessible constantly across the country. This style is network is similarly being achieved by Tesla, whose Supercharging system is said to double this year across the globe. Reports of large queues in the U.S. stress how important it is to have the infrastructure for electric charging secure before releasing electric powered vehicles.
The Taiwanese company claims to have saved ’69,582,000kg’ of CO2, which is said to be ‘As much CO2 as 6,958,202 trees consume every year’. The staggering result of Gogoro’s climate impact emphasises the need for electric transport to become more mainstream. So far, only three other countries have truly started using Gogoro’s technology. In 2017, Gogoro joined with COUP, and launch the COUP ride sharing service. Berlin saw great success with COUP, now holding a 1000 bike fleet, with Paris and Madrid also adding the service to their streets. By the end of 2018, COUP will have over 3,500 bikes available in Europe, all working off the Gogoro network. Hopefully areas such as London, and Brighton - where the only Green Party seat is held in the U.K. - will similarly join the network of sharable, electric bikes.
Currently, Gogoro produces ten electric scooters that range from £2,555, up to £4,555, all sporting different features; from range, to design or storage. Gogoro has tapped into a similar model that Tesla has been able to achieve…they’ve made their electric scooters very ‘cool’. The customisable features of the visual HUD, combined with the company application and charging network, gives the overall Gogoro product a modern and futuristic feel that surpasses anything else on the market. Additionally, the Gogoro is fast, going from 0-50km/h in just 3.7 seconds (a Vespa GTS 125 would do the same 0-50km/h in 5.0s), with a top speed (for the Gogoro S) of 95km/h, it proves that electric power is not only good for the environment, but is also a fast and more technologically advanced option.
Gogoro furthered their focus on renewable energy by installing their ‘first solar powered GoStation’ in 2017, launched ’in the Bali district of New Taipei City’. Their ‘new standard of alternative fuel’ promotes a new way of looking at energy, as their ‘advanced battery swapping platform’ continues to stand out from the crowd. How long until Britain and Europe welcomes this form of charging across all their cities? So far, only baby steps are being taken, but it is evident that this style of charging holds huge potential for more than just electric scooters.