Energica says 15-minute 85% charge isn’t far

As electric mobility technology increases, many people are wondering when electric motorcycles will be competitive with their internal combustion counterparts. For the most part, charging times and range are the key parameters that people worry about. If motorcyclists embrace electric mobility en masse, electric motorcycles will need to compare well to internal combustion motorcycles.

Recently, Visor Down interviewed Livia Cevoline and Giampiero Testoni, CEO of Energica. During the interview, they discussed the electric motorcycle market and the challenges of electric mobility. And both executives feel quite happy with the prospects for electric motorcycles.

Electric motorcycle technology is developing rapidly

Particularly interesting is Testoni’s belief that electric motorcycle technology is developing rapidly. And he believes that electric motorcycles are not far from being a direct competitor with their gasoline-powered counterparts.

When asked when range and recharge time would be on par with gasoline-powered motorcycles, Testoni said:

“From a technical point of view, charge and range, let’s say the charge, we think we were one of the first to believe in fast charging. Of course, there was already a Japanese standard, but we were the first to go for a European standard, allowing an 80% recharge in half an hour. In real use, when you stop to refuel, you will drink coffee, 20 minutes, it is very easy to achieve this goal. ”

“The fast-charging technology is already there, the battery cells that are already capable of recharging in 15 minutes, some technologies for seven to ten minutes. The 15 minute 85% is just around the corner. And then refueling in five minutes for reloading in 15 minutes, the difference is then very small. ”

“And on the other side, put it away. On a motorcycle, you can’t have that huge battery space. Now we have the 21.5kWh batteries which is very close to what a gasoline motorcycle does in real use. “- Giampiero Testoni with the visor down

Range and recharging of electric motorcycles

For example, Energica claims that its 21.5 kWh Ego + model has a range of 249 miles (400 km) in the city and a combined range of 143 miles (180 km). As for recharging, Energica provides its recharging rates in kilometers per hour or kilometers per minute.

Using DC Fast Charge 4 mode, Energica says you can get around 250 miles (400 km) of charge in an hour or around 4.1 miles (6.7 km) per minute. When using “Trickle Charge Mode 2 or 3”, the bike’s charge rate drops to approximately 63.5 km (40 miles) per hour.

But even those rates don’t compare to what Testoni says is right around the corner. That is to say; full charge in 15 minutes.

Ready to take the leap?

So if what Testoni says holds true for charging and the range remains around 250 miles per charge, would you be willing to switch to electric motorcycles? Let us know in the comments below.