Gogoro creates a new revenue stream beyond mobility with Enel X’s virtual power plant.

Recognized and awarded by Frost & Sullivan as the “2023 Global Company of the Year for battery swapping system for electric scooter,” Gogoro’s battery swapping and vehicle platforms offer a smart, proven, and sustainable long-term ecosystem for delivering a new approach to urban mobility. Gogoro has previously announced that they will prioritize the development of energy services in the future, and it took them ten years to go from developing electric scooters to integrating the power grid, turning thousands of battery-swapping stations into a virtual power grid.

“We are entering a new era of smart energy infrastructure, and by integrating the Gogoro Network with the Enel X Virtual Power Plant in Taiwan we are providing a new energy resource. It is the first time this technology has been deployed this way in the world, and it creates a new Gogoro revenue stream beyond mobility,” said Horace Luke, founder, and CEO of Gogoro. Some 2,500 Gogoro battery-swapping stations have been converted into VPPs capable of storing up to 150 megawatt hours of electricity collectively enough, to power 500 local households for a month.

The rollout follows the completion of a successful pilot program in 2022 and is the first commercial deployment of this technology in the world. The Gogoro Network could safely pause charging if there was a grid imbalance or provide energy back to the grid as demand required. Once the demand subsided, Enel X’s VPP sent a signal to the Gogoro Network to safely restore grid consumption.

“Enel X’s VPP aggregates Gogoro’s battery swapping energy load to contribute to TPC’s Energy Trading Platform for ancillary service. Our Energy Trading Platform allows organizations like Gogoro to be active contributors of energy in Taiwan and we encourage more businesses to participate through professional aggregators like Enel X, to work together towards Taiwan’s renewable energy future, president of Taiwan Power Company, Yao-Ting Wang Said.”

According to a new report by Markets and Markets, the electric scooter Market by value is estimated to be USD 4.9 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach USD 14.7 billion by 2028, at a CAGR of 24.8% from 2023 to 2028. The market for electric scooters is expected to rise as a result of reasons including rising fuel prices, the adoption of emissions-free transportation, and advantageous government policies including subsidies and tax refunds. Gogoro will build battery-swapping stations for electric scooters across western India’s Maharashtra state, where the Taiwanese firm and its local partner will invest $2.5 billion over the next eight years to spur the adoption of electric scooters.

Foxconn group invested $20 million in Gogoro in 2021, and due to Foxconn’s active involvement in the new energy vehicle field, it is widely believed that there will be business cooperation between Gogoro and Foxconn beyond just investment. In November 2022, Foxconn revealed that they are developing a modular electric car that will use Gogoro’s PBGN energy network in its power system. Four Gogoro batteries are expected to be installed under the hood, while another part of the power supply will come from a battery module to achieve a driving range of 400 kilometers, and this battery module will be installed on the chassis.

This is a charging technology that combines swapping and charging systems, and with Gogoro’s extensive network of swapping stations in Taiwan, it is expected to reduce charging wait times and even enable their vehicles to be used in Goshare (car-sharing service), providing on-demand transportation services.