15 September 2022

Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. announced today that we took part in SBMC, was founded in September 2021 by KTM, Honda, Piaggio and Yamaha. As a result, the Swappable Batteries Motorcycle Consortium (SBMC) has grown to 21 members (and counting).

The mission of the SBMC is to accelerate the deployment of swappable battery systems by developing and promoting new common technical specifications towards global and open standardization. In its first six months, the consortium took essential steps at an incredible pace.

Its aim is to ensure full interoperability of swapping batteries to facilitate their application and boost sustainable mobility.

This is what emerged during the SBMC Summit held in July 2022, with 40 of its representatives convened at the KTM Motohall in Mattighofen, Austria. This event was the perfect occasion to reflect on the progress made over the consortium’s first semester of existence, and to set the scene for upcoming activities towards standardization.

The vision, strategy and operations of the consortium were established across its members, the committees and working groups. The consortium was equipped with the proper tools and instruments to fulfill its ambitions. The set of relevant technical specifications was agreed upon, and the SBMC’s work streams on prototyping and standardization were successfully kicked off. Strategic positions were also taken, among which are the acceptance of the SBMC as Formal Liaison Member to the CEN-CENELEC and membership in CEN-TC301 and CEN-CENELEC JTC-13.

The consortium’s constructive approach has enabled it to overcome the technical challenges of developing interconnected and compatible systems. The SBMC is on track to achieve its goals as planned, and can now count on the best available expertise in the world to do so.

The current members are: AVL, Ciklo, Fivebikes, Forsee Power, Hioki, Honda, Hyba, JAMA, KTM, Niu, Piaggio, Polaris, Roki, Samsung , Sinbon, Sumitomo Electric, Suzuki, Swobbee, Vitesco, VeNetWork, Yamaha.


■Reference
Website of the Swappable Batteries Motorcycle Consortium： https://www.sb-mc.net/


Hiroki Hirai, Sumitomo Electric General Manager of CAS-EV Development Promotion Division
The electrification of mobility is accelerating to reduce CO2 emissions on a global scale. In order to promote the widespread use of electrified mobility, it is necessary to solve the issues of cruising range and recharging time, and swappable batteries are one effective means. For this reason, Sumitomo Electric has decided to join the SBMC, a European consortium working toward standardization of swappable batteries for compact mobility, and to contribute to society with its connectivity technology.
The Sumitomo Electric Group is committed to making a concerted effort to create a safe, comfortable, and green society, which we have been striving to achieve since our establishment.