2024 Climate Tech Companies to Watch: Gogoro and its battery-swapping network for electric scooters
Now Gogoro is bringing that system online throughout the world, with locations in India, China, Colombia, and the Philippines, among other countries. Key to its success is the complete ecosystem it has created. Gogoro manufactures both scooters and batteries; the latter power not only its own vehicles but also those made by Yamaha, Suzuki, and various other local manufacturers worldwide. It also maintains a fleet of rideshare scooters available to rent (which the company made free in the aftermath of the earthquake until Taipei’s public transit system came back online). And the whole system is tied together by more than 13,000 battery-swapping stations found at 3,000 locations throughout the world.
Key indicators
- Industry: Electric vehicles
- Founded: 2011
- Headquarters: Taipei, Taiwan
- Notable fact: Riders can exchange empty batteries for fully charged ones in less than six seconds at Gogoro’s battery-swapping stations.
Potential for impact
A key challenge of transitioning away from fossil fuels is competing with the price and ubiquity of gasoline. Thanks to its network, Gogoro has made electric micro mobility vehicles convenient, efficient, and affordable, so they offer a real alternative to filling up at the pump. In fact, there are now more Gogoro stations in Taipei than gas stations.
Moreover, those stations are not only convenient but environmentally friendly. They’re able to act as virtual power plants: They can draw power during times when grid usage is low (such as at night), return power to the grid when usage is high, and even supply backup power in case of emergencies like an earthquake or typhoon. More than 1,000 Gogoro stations now do double duty in this way.
Finally, when the company’s batteries reach the end of their life for powering scooters, they can be redeployed as backup power packs for traffic lights, streetlights, and other electrical infrastructure.
