Business

Testing battery swap for delivery E-bikers

By Christian Thomas

A six-month pilot program aims to ease the way for guys and gals who make deliveries to New Yorkers’ homes and offices via bicycle.

PopWheels, a Brooklyn-based battery swap network, and bike repair workers from Spheara have partnered to outfit deliverers who travel by E-bikes with fully charged batteries from Swobbee.

“We are targeting delivery riders in New York City deliberately because they benefit the most
from battery swapping,” said Stephan Wolff, managing director of Swobbee’s U.S. operations. “Right now, they use multiple batteries a day and, with us, they only need to carry one battery because they can swap it when they’re done.”

Partnering with the New York City Department of Transportation, Germany-based Swobbee opened its first U.S. swapping stations in The Big Apple. By early June 2024, 30 riders had signed on for the swapping service. Swobbee plans to install 21 more swap stations by the end of the year.

“It takes time to gain that trust in this new technology. Once they’ve gained that trust, we really
need to bring in a cultural shift away from owning a battery towards renting a battery and
swapping it on the go,” Wolff said.

PopWheels enclosed lithium-powered battery module are hung above the rear tire of an E-bike. Knowing that some consumers are leery of lithium batteries, which can ignite, Wolff hopes that riders will have confidence in the safety of Swobbe batteries and view them as an improvement to riders, whether they are making deliveries or cycling for fun.

“What we really have to understand is that the battery is the heart for them. They need that every
day in order to make money. If it doesn’t work, they don’t have money,” Wolff said.

“As this city is moving away from traditional cars and towards micro-mobility, we are planning
to be the backbone infrastructure that everyone runs on,” Wolff said.