Check out Honda’s swappable battery stations for electric motorbikes, hoping to go global

Published

3 years ago

October 27, 2022

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Honda’s swappable battery packs, known as the Honda Mobile Power Pack e: (MPPe:), are soon getting their own Gogoro-style battery swapping stations for recharging.

The station will be known as the Honda Power Pack Exchanger e: (HPPEe:), just in case we needed another long acronym.

It features a number of battery slots that would allow electric scooter and motorbike riders to pop in their nearly depleted batteries and slide out a freshly charged MPPe: battery.

The stations have been delivered to Gachaco, the battery pack swapping company we first reported on earlier this year, and which was jointly-formed by Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki, and Suzuki.

Those motorcycle makers, collectively known as the Big Four in Japan, led the founding of a consortium to develop a universal standard for swappable batteries used in electric motorbikes. Ultimately though, it appears they’ve all just decided to use Honda’s batteries as the standard.

The first HPPEe: station will apparently be installed by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government for use in Japan’s capital city.

Additional stations have been prepared for use in India, where Honda is expanding its operations and is expected to roll out a new electric moped soon.

Some electric rickshaws in India, which are popular forms of transportation in big cities, already use Honda’s MPPe: batteries and make use of these swap stations, seen below.

It’s not clear exactly where else Honda expects to deploy its battery swapping stations, but the company obviously has big plans. They described the system as “battery infrastructure that can be widely used both in Japan and overseas.”

If you’re thinking that the HPPEe: battery swapping stations look familiar, that’s because they do. The design appears to be largely based off of battery swapping giant Gogoro’s GoStations, which first debuted in Taiwan in 2015 and now number in the thousands covering the entire island nation.

Gogoro sees around 350,000 battery swaps per day across its extensive network in Taiwan, with a total of over 350 million battery swaps since it began operations.

Its stations are also designed to maintain operation during massive power outages, and can even supply the stored energy from their batteries back into the grid to power critical local infrastructure such as hospitals.

Gogoro mainly operates its battery swapping network in Taiwan, but has begun expanding internationally across Asia and recently launched its first western expansion in Israel, where riders can now buy Gogoro’s electric scooters and subscribe to the battery swapping network.

Unlike Gogoro’s system, where the smart batteries store the rider’s information and thus don’t require a membership card to use a swap station, Honda’s HPPEe: stations will require riders to first enter their details into a swap station before being able to access the batteries.

Gogoro’s system only requires depositing the batteries then waiting a few seconds for the station to pop out two freshly charged packs. That quick process is enabled by a smart connection in the battery packs that automatically identifies the scooter and thus the rider’s membership.

I recently had the chance to test out Gogoro’s battery swap stations in Tel Aviv, which you can see in the short clip below.

Other Gogoro-inspired battery swap stations have also popped up recently, including a similar looking entry from fellow Taiwanese motorbike maker KYMCO.

In contracts, many companies have eschewed battery swapping due to the heavy investment required to build up a massive network of swap stations. Large removable batteries are becoming increasingly popular among electric scooter and lightweight electric motorcycle companies. Silence, a Barcelona-based electric motorbike company, makes trolley-style batteries that drop out of the scooter and use a luggage-style handle to wheel them around on their built-in rollers.

Ryvid, an electric motorcycle startup from California, also has a novel wheeled battery pack that helps riders haul the 65 lb. (30 kg) battery inside for charging off of the bike.

Could battery swapping like Honda’s HPPEe: system take off? Or will removable batteries that riders can charge at home win out? Let’s hear your opinion in the comments section below.

via: Rideapart; h/t: Natalie Weiss

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Environment

Trump admin OKs $1B loan for Three Mile Island nuclear reboot

Published

4 hours ago

November 18, 2025

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Three Mile Island loan — By Constellation Energy – CC BY-SA 4.0

The US Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office (LPO) closed a $1 billion loan to restart Three Mile Island Unit 1, a nuclear reactor at Three Mile Island in Londonderry Township, Pennsylvania.

The money is being loaned to Constellation Energy Generation, which is renaming the 835 megawatt (MW) Three Mile Island Unit 1 the Crane Clean Energy Center. Constellation said in September 2024 that it would restart the reactor under a power purchase agreement with Microsoft, which needs more clean power to feed its growing data-center demand.

The project is estimated to cost around $1.6 billion, and the DOE says the project will create around 600 jobs. The reactor is expected to start generating power again in 2027.

Three Mile Island Unit 1 (in the foreground in the photo above) went offline in 2019 because it could no longer compete with cheaper natural gas, but it wasn’t decommissioned. It’s capable of powering the equivalent of approximately 800,000 homes. It’s on the same site as the Unit 2 reactor (in the background in the photo above) that went into partial nuclear meltdown in 1979, and is known as the worst commercial nuclear accident in US history.

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When asked about the loan’s timing, Greg Beard, senior adviser to the Loan Programs Office, told reporters on a call that it would “lower the cost of capital and make power cheaper for those PJM [Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Maryland] ratepayers.” Data centers are driving up electricity costs for consumers.

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Environment

Ford opens orders for the electric Bronco in China, starting at under $33,000

Published

6 hours ago

November 18, 2025

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Ford opens orders for the electric Bronco in China, starting at under ,000

An affordable Bronco EV? Not for those in the US. Ford opened orders for the electric Bronco in China, starting at under $33,000.

Ford Bronco electric pre-orders open at under $33,000

Ford announced the All-Wheel Drive electric SUV is officially open for pre-sale on Tuesday, starting at RMB 229,800 ($32,300).

The electric Bronco is available in pure electric (EV) and extended range electric vehicle (EREV) options. It’s offered in three variants, priced from RMB 229,800 ($32,300) to RMB 272,800 ($38,400).

All models are All Wheel Drive, while the pure electric version costs an extra 10,000 yuan ($1,400). Ford is offering pre-sale buyers some pretty sweet benefits, including a camping experience package (with an added roof tent), a Mountain Kitchen Multi-Function Tailgate gift, an overnight stay package (for your vehicle), and more.

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The electric Ford Bronco is about the same size as the standard 4-door version sold in the US at 5,025 mm long, 1,960 mm wide, and 1,815 mm tall.

Although it may look the same, the EV version draws power from a 105.4 kWh LFP battery pack from BYD’s FinFreams, providing up to 650 km (404 miles) CLTC driving range.

It’s equipped with two electric motors, one in the front and the other in the rear, producing a combined 445 horsepower (332 kW).

The EREV version combines a 43.7 kWh battery with a 1.5T engine, delivering a pure-electric range of 220 km (137 miles) and a combined CLTC driving range of 1,220 km (758 miles).

Some of the higher trims feature Ford’s Fuyu ADAS system, developed exclusively for buyers in China with a roof-mounted LiDAR and over 30 sensors and cameras. It even features a cool “off-road logbook” that shows drivers over 20 popular routes across China.

The interior is custom-tailored for Chinese buyers with a 15.6″ central infotainment and a smaller driver display screen. It also offers a massive 70″ AR head-up display (HUD).

Unlike the Ford vehicles we’re accustomed to seeing, the electric Bronco includes a 7.5L refrigerator in the center console.

The AWD electric SUV is coming at a critical time as Ford aims to revamp its business in China. Ford is working with local partners on new technologies, designs, and powertrain ideas for global markets.

Ford’s sales in China are down by over 14% through October this year, but new electrified vehicles, including the Bronco, are expected to help turn things around. Ford’s lineup in China mainly consists of gas-powered vehicles, which have quickly fallen out of favor with buyers shifting to more advanced, more efficient, and often lower-priced domestic EVs.

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Environment

Trump administration backs Three Mile Island nuclear restart with $1 billion loan to Constellation

Published

6 hours ago

November 18, 2025

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The cooling towers of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Middletown, Pennsylvania, Oct. 30, 2024.

Danielle DeVries | CNBC

The Trump administration will provide Constellation Energy with a $1 billion loan to restart the Crane Clean Energy Center nuclear plant in Pennsylvania, Department of Energy officials said Tuesday.

Previously known as Three Mile Island Unit 1, the plant is expected to start generating power again in 2027. Constellation unveiled plans to rename and restart the reactor in Sept. 2024 through a power purchase agreement with Microsoft to support the tech company’s data center demand in the region.

Three Mile Island Unit 1 ceased operations in 2019, one of a dozen reactors that closed in recent years as nuclear struggled to compete against cheap natural gas. It sits on the same site as Three Mile Island Unit 2, the reactor that partially melted down in 1979 in the worst nuclear accident in U.S. history.

The loan would cover the majority to the project’s estimated cost of $1.6 billion. The first advance to Constellation is expected in the first quarter of 2026, said Greg Beard, senior advisor to the Energy Department’s Loan Programs Office, in a call with reporters. The loan comes with a guarantee from Constellation that it will protect taxpayer money, Beard said.

Constellation’s stock was up more than 2% in after hours trading on Tuesday.

The control panel in the main control room of the Three Mile Island Nuclear power plant is seen on Oct. 30, 2024 in Middletown, Pennsylvania, U.S.

Danielle DeVries | CNBC

CEO Joe Dominguez hinted at federal financial support previously, telling investors in Sept. 2024 that Constellation would “take a look as we finance the project at loan guarantees and other things that will be available.” Constellation is the largest operator of nuclear plants in the U.S.

When asked why Constellation was receiving the loan now, Beard said Tuesday that Constellation could have completed the project without help from the Energy Department. But the loan will help make electricity cheaper for consumers on the grid operated by PJM Interconnection, which serves more than 65 million people across 13 states, Beard said.

“What’s important for the administration is to show support for affordable, reliable, secure energy in the U.S.,” Beard told reporters. “This loan to Constellation will lower the cost of capital and make power cheaper for those PJM ratepayers.”

Electricity prices

Energy Secretary Chris Wright said last week that his department’s loan office would use most of its money to support the nuclear industry. President Donald Trump signed four executive orders in May that aim to significantly expand new nuclear capacity.

Consumers in many states in the PJM region are facing significant electricity price increases as the rapid increase in demand from artificial intelligence data centers outstrips available supply.

“We want to bring as much net addition of dispatchable, reliable electricity onto the grid to stop these price rises in electricity,” Wright told reporters on Tuesday.

The turbine deck of the Three Mile Island Nuclear power plant is seen on Oct. 30, 2024 in Middletown, Pennsylvania, U.S.

Danielle DeVries | CNBC

The Crane Clean Energy Center is one of three shuttered nuclear plants in the U.S. that are aiming to start generating power again this decade subject to approval by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Crane had the capacity to power more than 800,000 homes when it closed in 2019, according to Constellation.

The Energy Department is supporting the restart of the Palisades nuclear plant in Michigan with a $1.5 billion loan to Holtec International. NextEra Energy announced in October plans to restart the Duane Arnold nuclear plant in Iowa through an agreement Alphabet‘s Google Unit.

When asked whether NextEra will receive a loan for Duane Arnold, Beard told CNBC that Trump’s executive orders direct the Energy Department to “prioritize the restart of nuclear reactors.”