Venture firms paving way for new electric bikes

Electric motorcycles are being propelled by technological developments, particularly that of lithium batteries. With the batteries available on the market already performing satisfactorily, companies do not have to bear the brunt of the cost of research and development. Electric bikes emit almost no carbon dioxide and their energy cost is less than half gasoline-powered bikes with engine displacement of 50cc or less. In 2007, Ocean Energy Technica Co. released a lead-acid battery motorcycle called “Meros III” and has sold about 1,500 units as of February 2009. Meanwhile, Auto EV Japan Co. debuted the “Scarpina” lithium ion battery bike in May, which was jointly developed by Chinese maker BYD Co. Lead-acid batteries have often been used in e-bikes but are not very user-friendly; it takes eight hours for a single battery charge but the bike runs only about 50km and cannot go up steep slopes. The new wave of advanced battery is expected to gradually spread to the bigger four-wheel vehicle market, given that motor-assisted bicycles powered by low-capacity lithium ion batteries are already popular. (April 1, 2009)