Kymco Ionex Electric Scooter Platform Announced

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• Jason on Mar 24, 2018

  The problem is the first sentence. Companies would have to agree to standardize. In doing so would give up battery technology a performance as a selling point to buy their bike instead of the competitors bike.

  In the ICE world there would be huge advantages if every 2.0L engine from every car manufacturer was the same but it will never happen.

• Matt O on Mar 24, 2018

  I'm not sure that's true, they would really only need to standardize the plugin device and external dimensions. If company A wants to sell high tech super awesome batteries that give you 100 more miles of range there is nothing to stop company B from selling a basic battery with limited range with reduced cost that fits the same plugs. To stick with your car comparison, everyone uses different engines but they all run on gasoline. I don't have to put Ford brand fuel in my F150, I can use the same pump for my Honda.

• Jason on Mar 24, 2018

  Batteries are far more complicated and specific than gasoline. It isn't just the size and plug that matters.

  They would have to standardize:
  Plug
  Dimensions
  Voltage
  Amp Hours
  Chemistry
  Charge / discharge Rates
  Battery management system

  The battery determines performance. They heat up when charged or discharged rapidly. That means they have complex battery management systems to monitor voltage and temperature on every cell. The vast majority of EV cars have active heating and cooling systems to keep battery temperature just right and prevent overheating.

  The battery is just as important to an EV's performance as the motor if not more important.

• Matt O on Mar 24, 2018

  Every other industry that relies on batteries has standardized in someway or another there's no reason that EV's can't do the same

• Jason on Mar 24, 2018

  The only industries with standardized batteries produce products where the battery is not central part of the product. Where the battery is central to the performance of the product they are not standard. For example, you can't put a Makita battery in a DeWalt drill.

  Also attempting to standardize batteries would slow battery development as every manufacturer would have to agree to any changes. Battery research would also have little value because any performance advantages would be shared with your competitors.

  Adopting standard batteries in EVs is the equivalent of standard engines in an ICE.

  Chevy, Ford, and Ram could offer a common engine in their 1/2 ton trucks. Doing so would have huge advantages. The engine would cost less due to massive volumes. R&D would be much less as you would have 1 effort instead of 3 redundant R&D programs. Spare parts would be much easier to stock and find. Training mechanics would be easier and cheaper. A customer could take their truck to any of the dealerships to get maintenance done. It would be a huge cost reduction for OEMs and great for customers too Why don't they do this?

  Automakers don't use shared engines because the engine is the heart and soul of the vehicle and a huge part of the marketing pitch to buy one vehicle over the other. The battery is the heart and soul of an electric vehicle.

• Bownse on Jan 17, 2020

  Standardized "ports" have been around for a long time (A/C outlets, unleaded gas filler necks, computers, etc.). It doesn't hinder sales or innovation and probably increases sales for those who have more than 1 "thing". EV makers would be well-served to look at IEEE and NIST as beacons to a safe landing.

• Bownse on Jan 17, 2020

  Standardize PORTS instead of batteries.

• Jason on Jan 17, 2020

  If only the ports are the same but every manufacturer has a different battery how does that help? The battery swapping stations would still have to stock batteries for individual models.

  EDIT: I represented my company at IEEE standards meetings. The tiniest of changes took years to get agreement.

By Dennis Chung