SPIKE Mobility

Developing countries experience increasingly deadly levels of local air pollution, for which the transportation sector is largely responsible. In Kenya, one of the fastest developing countries in Africa, 53% of all emissions originate from transportation. Especially motorcycles form an enormous problem to the local quality of life, due to the immense growth of motorcycles and their excessive levels of pollutions; motorcycles emit up to hundreds times more harmful pollutants per kilometres than cars. Simply banning them is impossible, since motorcycles are the only way to get through congested cities. 95% of all motorcycles is used for taxi purposes, providing accessible transportation to Kenyans within urban areas and contributing to economic growth.

SPIKE Mobility has set itself the mission to electrify the East-African motorcycle market. After previously developing an electric touring motorcycle within STORM Eindhoven and driving it around the world in 80 days, SPIKE will now implement electric mobility where it benefits the environment and economy the most. As a first step, SPIKE has partnered with the Dutch-Kenyan motorcycle brand KIBO to bring electric motorcycles to Kenya. A collaboration with the United Nations Environmental Program has been secured to start a large scale pilot in Nairobi in 2020. The young and entrepreneurial SPIKE team with roots in the Eindhoven University of Technology aims to have over 100.000 electric motorcycles riding in Kenya by 2030. Based on proprietary motor-inverter technology in SPIKE’s unique modular powertrain, it is predicted that electric motorcycles will save users 50% in total costs of ownership compared to combustion engine motorcycles by 2030. Due to the swappable battery pack, users can lease the batteries on a price-per-km basis, which enables low-capital users to access clean mobility, while simplifying maintenance and disposal of batteries. In the collaboration with KIBO, SPIKE focusses on the design and production of the modular electric powertrain, battery pack and charging infrastructure for the electric motorcycles in East- Africa. After the initial prototyping and pilot phases, SPIKE aims to expand by selling its technology to other small electric vehicle manufacturers, with a strong focus on developing countries.