The Osaka Prefectural Government (Governor: Hirofumi Yoshimura), Osaka University (President: Shojiro Nishio) and the Motorcycle Committee* of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (Chairman: Akio Toyoda) will launch the “e-Yan OSAKA” verification testing project, aimed at promoting the popularization of electric motorcycles, in September 2020 in the cities of Suita, Toyonaka and Minoh in northern Osaka Prefecture, where Osaka University has campuses.

*JAMA’s Motorcycle Committee (Chairman: Yoshihiro Hidaka) is composed of representatives of JAMA’s four motorcycle-producing members: Honda Motor, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Suzuki, and Yamaha Motor; JAMA will promote this project through its Electric Motorcycle Promotion Planning Subcommittee.

The goal of the “e-Yan OSAKA” project is to help promote the widespread use and increased awareness of electric motorcycles and their excellent environmental performance through coordinated efforts among industry, academia and government entities and to consider sustainable urban traffic strategies which the use of these motorcycles will enable. The cooperation of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, which was responsible for the initial contact between the Osaka Prefectural Government and JAMA, was critical to the development of the project.

Basic challenges including travel range and faster charging time must be resolved if the widespread use of electric motorcycles is to become a reality. From the standpoint of user convenience, the standardization of swappable batteries and the creation of an infrastructure for quick and convenient battery replacement are key to meeting those challenges. To be conducted over a one-year period, the verification testing project will enable students and faculty members of Osaka University to rent, at minimal cost, electric motorcycles whose batteries can be exchanged at dedicated swappable battery delivery stations located on the Suita and Toyonaka campuses and at Lawson convenience-store outlets situated in the surrounding area. Implementation of this project will make it possible to identify and resolve potential impediments to the establishment of electric motorcycles as a viable means of transport. Based on its results, verification testing may be expanded throughout Osaka Prefecture, to help boost electric motorcycle use.

Through this project, moreover, the Osaka Prefectural Government will aim to promote industry initiatives in fuel cell-related fields, in which a large number of enterprises in Osaka are involved, as well as the creation of businesses whose activities will contribute to the achievement of sustainable development goals established for the World Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai. Osaka University will promote this activity on the basis of the Osaka Comprehensive Partnership Agreement to revitalize communities and improve the lives of Osaka Prefecture residents by addressing pertinent social issues. For its part, JAMA aims to verify the convenience of the swappable battery delivery system in urban areas, identify obstacles to widespread electric motorcycle use, and promote increased awareness of electric motorcycles, so that they might be established as a select mode of mobility meeting a diversity of transportation needs.

The project will be carried out in coordination with the Swappable Batteries Consortium for Electric Motorcycles created in April last year by the aforementioned four motorcycle manufacturers to promote the standardization of swappable batteries and the establishment of a common infrastructure for swappable battery delivery. The efficiency and convenience of the use of the swappable battery delivery system will be verified on the basis of those coordination activities.

“e-Yan OSAKA” Project Summary Overview

Attachment：e-Yan OSAKA” Project Participation Details and Requirements.