Indonesia JV reaches milestone of first 4 million km zero-emission motorcycle trips
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A ride hailing e-motorcycle driver swaps a near death battery with a fresh one at a battery swapping station in Bali.
ST PHOTO: WAHYUDI SOERIAATMADJA
A recently formed Indonesian joint venture (JV) has logged its first 4 million km of zero-emission road trips after deploying, in a pilot project, more than 200 e-motorcycles to carry passengers and deliver food in Jakarta from February to October.
The endeavour comes as South-east Asia’s largest economy is opening doors to drive electric vehicle (EV) adoption, with the government introducing regulations and the private sector rolling out initiatives to make breakthrough investments.
Public transport would make a strong launching pad for the massive use of EVs, Transport Minister Budi Karya Sumadi said during a recent event in Bali.
The use of EVs is a main priority of the government in the energy transition to achieve net-zero emissions, he added.
Jakarta-based Electrum, a joint venture between ride-hailing operator Gojek and energy company TBS Energy Utama, is studying the specifications of e-motorcycles that best cope with the road conditions and driving styles of Indonesians. Data and insights were collected from the eight-month pilot where each driver logged between 100km and 120km a day, said the JV’s managing director Patrick Adhiatmadja.
“Net emissions for every million kilometres would have been about 85 tonnes, hence we have avoided 340 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions,” he added during a recent event in Bali, where the company is allocating 50 e-motorcycles to serve Group of 20 (G-20) summit delegates.
Indonesia, which holds the presidency of the G-20 in 2022, expects more than 400 delegates to attend the Nov 15 to 16 summit. Among priority issues discussed in meetings prior to the summit are efforts to foster a sustainable energy transition and strengthen the global health architecture.
Indonesia aims to have 13 million e-motorcycles and two million four-wheeled EVs by 2030. Today, there are about 119.5 million registered motorcycles, of which 12,000 are electric. There are 23.3 million registered cars, of which 2,700 are EVs.
Mr Budi stressed that maintaining quality and quantity – reaching economies of scale – is a must to ensure that the EV drive is sustainable. There are 43 e-motorcycle brands in the market, but many have a very low-range battery and are of substandard quality.
Electrum uses e-motorcycles that have two batteries on each unit. It has built battery swop stations, where riders may spend less than three minutes getting fresh batteries, said Mr Patrick. Each swop paves the way for 100km trips, based on the 90kmh maximum speed.
Economist Tirta Citradi of MNC Sekuritas, who is researching Indonesia’s EV landscape, praised the government’s incentives to reach the EV population targets by 2030. They include a 30 per cent electricity tariff reduction for home-charging; significantly lowered vehicle sales tax and annual vehicle tax; and exemption from a traffic restriction rule based on odd- and even-numbered registration plates.
Ride-hailing driver Wayan Agus Wiranata is excited that at some point in 2022 he will no longer have to spend 50,000 rupiah (S$4.50) a day buying fuel and pay for regular engine-oil changes, as he is getting an e-motorcycle to carry passengers and food in Bali.
“I will be handing over our existing motorcycle to my wife to go to work,” he said.