Seocho-gu Builds Infrastructure for Battery-Swappable Electric Motorcycles

SignetEV, a Ministry of Environment pilot project company, signs MOU with DNA Motors... App enables exchange station location check and battery replacement in just 20 seconds... Nationwide largest 12 stations to officially operate from March...

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Seocho-gu announced that it will officially operate 12 electric motorcycle battery exchange stations, the largest number nationwide, starting in March.

This initiative aims to quickly promote the transition to low-carbon, noise-free electric motorcycles in response to the recent surge in gasoline motorcycle usage due to increased delivery demand caused by COVID-19, which has raised environmental issues such as fine dust and noise complaints in residential areas.

In May last year, the district signed an MOU with Signet EV Co., Ltd., a pilot project company selected by the Ministry of Environment, and DNA Motors. Since June last year, six electric motorcycle battery exchange stations have been operated on a trial basis. As a result, over the past eight months, there have been about 800 uses in total, averaging approximately 100 uses per month.

Based on this high usage, the district analyzed areas with high accessibility and convenience for electric motorcycles and high delivery demand, and installed six additional stations at strategic locations such as Jang-an Children's Park in Seocho-dong, in addition to the existing six battery exchange stations. The types of exchange stations include five standard stations and seven public phone booth-type stations. Notably, the public phone booth-type stations were created by repurposing old public phone booths in collaboration with KT last year.

Electric motorcycle riders who wish to use the service can check the locations of charging stations via the ‘Battery Charging Exchange Station’ app developed by the Korea Environment Corporation. After launching the app and authenticating with a user (QR code), users can return used batteries and exchange them for fully charged ones. The exchange stations support battery swaps from DNA Motors, a company selected by the Ministry of Environment. Small business owners in Seocho-gu can receive a 50% discount on battery exchange fees.

Moreover, the time required to exchange a fully charged battery is only 20 seconds, enhancing both convenience and operational efficiency.

A district official stated, “We will continue to promote various carbon reduction policies, including the expansion of electric motorcycle battery exchange stations, to create a ‘Green City Seocho.’”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.