British multinational oil and gas giant Shell has entered a strategic partnership with Taiwanese e-scooter/battery swapping infra developer Gogoro to make battery-swapping stations more accessible to the masses, RideApart reported.
Gogoro’s strategy
Gogoro recently announced the successful certification of its battery swapping technology and Smartscooters in Singapore, with Cycle & Carriage (C&C) serving as its exclusive distribution partner in the fourth quarter.
As part of the strategy, Gogoro-C&C’s alliance tapped Shell Recharge to gain access to its sites, where they plan to deploy battery swapping GoStations nationwide.
Notably, Foodpanda also plays a crucial role in this initiative. It has been testing Gogoro’s Smartscooters and battery swapping platform to provide helpful insights into e-mobility in the country. Gogoro and C&C announced the pilot program in March 2023, and set to end by September 2024.
“Gogoro, Cycle & Carriage and foodpanda have been participating in a pilot that has demonstrated incredible success and we look forward to transitioning to commercial operations soon. We are looking forward to providing a seamless path for riders to adopt sustainable electric transportation in Singapore.”
Gogoro CEO and Founder Horace Luke
Shell’s role
Under the terms of the agreement, Shell Recharge will allow Gogoro and C&C to establish battery swapping GoStations at its existing service stations in Singapore, making the innovative technology accessible to more people.
The companies plan to erect the inaugural Shell-based GoStation as early as August 2024. They aim to deploy more GoStations at Shell sites across the country in the following two years.
The Gogoro Network
Gogoro’s battery swapping network offers cutting-edge swappable battery refueling technology to alleviate current owners’ and prospective electric scooter buyers’ range anxiety.
This battery swapping tech is smart, safe, and future-proof, as it seeks to be “dynamic and versatile” for owners.
The Gogoro Network already surpassed the number of gas stations in Taiwan’s cities, offering innovative and fast battery replenishment alternatives to 600,000+ riders. Its network of 12,500 GoStations across 2,500+ locations currently has a whopping 1.4 million+ smart batteries in circulation. These breakthroughs enable the company to cut more than 1 million tons of CO2 emissions so far.
Gogoro’s move to tap Shell’s locations is indeed a smart move as it can enable it to reach more people and encourage them to adopt battery swapping technology rather than the currently lacking charging infrastructures.
