ARC Ride, a Kenyan electric auto firm, operates a battery swap ecosystem for electric two-wheelers, also known as boda boda.
ARC Ride controls a battery-as-a-service system where boda boda riders swap their used batteries for charged ones. The regular price per swap costs KES 185, while unlimited swaps cost KES 350 per day.
ARC Ride uses a shared ecosystem for its battery-swapping infrastructure to ensure the bikes are as affordable as possible by eliminating the cost of purchasing the battery from the rider.
ARC’s battery-as-a-service manager, Jeremy Kimbo, disclosed that the firm has a battery-swapping infrastructure with fully automated metal cabinets, similar to a battery vending machine.
“Once a rider needs to swap their batteries, they come up to the cabinet and scan a QR code using the app. An empty locker door then opens for the rider to put in their battery, and then it runs some checks to ensure the battery links to that rider, after which it releases another fully charged battery.”
According to him, this process takes about 30 seconds to one minute. In addition, Kimbo stated that the firm is on track to hit its target of 200 swapping cabinets installed by 2024. With this, ARC Ride currently has the largest battery-swapping network in East Africa.
The company’s shared battery infrastructure can be monitored using IoT cards. This means they can remotely monitor all the shared batteries in the ecosystem and ensure the removal and testing of batteries with a dip in performance to ensure seamless operation for the ecosystem’s users.
ARC Ride’s drive to begin operations in Kenya is mainly because about 90 per cent of the country’s grid is renewable, which makes the energy generated to the energy used in ARC Ride’s cabinet 100 per cent. The cabinets use solar power to charge the batteries.
Furthermore, Kimba expressed enthusiasm about bringing this new technology to Kenya and Africa, stressing that the firm has a team of young, passionate Kenyan engineers and technicians leading at the industry’s forefront.