Funded by P4G, ChargeUp! will test the commercial viability of a Battery as a Service (BaaS) model by establishing a network of charging stations in Nairobi, Kenya, which will charge a flat battery swap fee for electric two- and three-wheelers. Ultimately, the partnership aims to develop an openly accessible and replicable master plan for e-bike adoption by cities across Africa

Imperial College London’s involvement in the project will involve the use of real analytics data from electric motorcycles and battery swap stations in Nairobi, supplied as secondary data by commercial e-mobility partners (ARC Ride and Fika Mobility), to perform modelling and analysis to determine optimal battery swap station locations and technical configurations.

This work will be used to plan battery swap infrastructure in Nairobi and to inform related policy recommendations, with the aim of enabling e-mobility to reduce transport related emissions and air pollution in the city and improve the livelihoods of riders.

The primary objectives of the study are to use real analytics data from electric motorcycles, batteries, and swap stations in Nairobi to:

1. Determine the optimal number of battery swap stations and batteries needed per vehicle to have a cost-effective and complete Battery-as-as-Service (BaaS) ecosystem for various scenarios of electric motorcycle market penetration in Nairobi.
2. Determine the optimal locations for the deployment of battery swap stations for various scenarios of electric motorcycle market penetration in Nairobi.
3. Quantify the localised well-to-wheel pollution and carbon emissions mitigated by shifting to electric motorcycles from internal combustion engine (ICE) motorcycles in Nairobi.
4. Investigate how different reduced electricity tariff structures would affect the operating costs of electric motorcycles and battery swap stations in Nairobi.