Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha are setting up a new company in Japan on 1 April with the energy company Eneos: Gachaco is to offer a sharing service for standardised exchangeable batteries of electric two wheelers and corresponding infrastructure.
Kawasaki plans to electrify all its motorbikes for the markets in Japan, Europe, the USA, Canada and Australia by 2035. The Japanese manufacturer includes both pure battery-electric and hybrid motorbikes.
After Kawasaki officially confirmed the development of an electric motorcycle last year, the Japanese manufacturer has now released a series of videos with further details. The electric bike is to be called the Kawasaki EV Endeavor.
Japan’s Kawasaki Heavy Industries has launched the world’s first liquefied hydrogen carrier at its Kobe Works yard. The hybrid electric-diesel carrier ship should transport hydrogen 9000 km from Australia to Japan.
Kawasaki has now officially confirmed the development of their first electric motorcycle. The manufacturer published a two-minute video showing a prototype of the future electric bike during tests on a racetrack.
Daimler Trucks has opened a new product and design centre at the Kawasaki plant of its Japanese commercial vehicle subsidiary Mitsubishi Fuso Truck & Bus Corporation (MFTBC). A main focus of the new centre will be the specific challenges facing electric trucks and their ecosystems, including charging.
Japan set up a new consortium called ECLAIR for Electrification Challenge for Aircraft – electric planes in other words. Members include the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) as well as industrial heavyweights from Mitsubishi over Kawasaki to Subaru.
ZF joins Formula E: Automotive supplier ZF Friedrichshafen is now on board as Venturi’s official technical partner for season three of the racing series. The goal is to jointly develop a new drivetrain, which will hit the track in 2018/19 – the Formula E’s fifth season. formulaspy.com, autosport.com
No race driver needed: Roborace has presented the prototype of its first self-driving race car, called DevBot. It will enter in driverless races as part of the next season of the Formula E, which will use the same track as the racing series. The goal is to show what autonomous technology can do. theverge.com, telegraph.co.uk, youtube.com (Video)
Kawasaki goes electric? Plans for an all-electric motorbike from Kawasaki have appeared online, according to which the manufacture wants to use an oil-cooling system. Unfortunately, technical details as well as a possible release date are still unknown. morebikes.co.uk, drivespark.com
The future of EV batteries: Researchers form the Pennsylvania State University say they have found the “ideal energy storage material” for electric car batteries. It allows a higher energy density and does not show any attrition after 30,000 charging cycles at high temperatures. The key is said to be the material’s three-dimensional, sandwich like structure. psu.edu
A total of 10 patents for electric motorcycles were filed by Kawasaki in the past three months. Moreover, the manufacturer registered the names Ninja E2 and E2R as trademarks. It looks as though Kawasaki was planning an electric Ninja. motorbiketimes.com, motoroids.com