How Ideanomics and Energica are putting electric motorcycle technology into everything else

After electrical conveyance institution Ideanomics celebrated its palmy acquiring of Italian electrical motorcycle institution Energica past month, the duo hosted an capitalist and expert time astatine the Nasdaq this week. With Electrek successful attendance, we heard archetypal manus from the leaders of the 2 companies astir however Energica’s industry-leading exertion volition present payment Ideanomics different electrical conveyance verticals, and vice versa. 

Oh, and we snagged a beauteous awesome thrust connected a 150 hp electrical motorcycle too.

But first, the lawsuit started disconnected with a ceremonial thrust of the 3 electrical motorcycles successful Energica’s lineup.

While Energica is often known for its 150 mph (240 km/h) racing electrical motorcycles, the institution produces streetfighter and roadster electrical motorcycles arsenic well.

All 3 models, including the Energica Ego, Energica Eva Ribelle and Energica EsseEsse9, rolled into Times Square with their riders Energica US CEO Stefano Benatti, Ideanomics Executive Chairman Shane Mcmahon, and President of Mobility Robin Mackie.

You tin spot it on with my recap of the time successful the video below.

One look astatine the stylish Italian racing bikes would person you judge that Energica leads connected its design. But successful fact, the institution has spent years honing its exertion arsenic its unsocial selling point, boasting a blase proprietary conveyance power portion (VCU) astatine the bosom of each bike.

That VCU is wrapped successful a massively almighty 110 kW (150 hp) liquid-cooled centrifugal and precocious capableness 21 kWh battery, but it’s truly the exertion that sets Energica isolated and made it specified a invaluable people for Ideanomics.

And that was by design. Energica CEO Livia Cevolini explained that based connected the company’s Italian birthplace successful the bosom of Motor Valley, she knew that meant that it had rather a estimation to unrecorded up to. 

“When you turn up successful the Italian Motor Valley, everyone is expecting you to beryllium perfect. Because implicit determination there are lone cleanable companies doing cleanable things. Just to sanction a few, we grew up looking astatine Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini, Ducati… and truthful what radical are expecting of us, and what we are expecting of ourselves, is to beryllium perfect. To physique the cleanable motorcycle. That’s what we’ve strived for since the beginning.”

And portion “perfect” is simply a reasonably precocious people to purpose for, a speedy reappraisal of the specs shows that Energica mightiness beryllium person than anybody close now. Livia wasn’t shy astir that point: 

“We person the highest torque, the highest power, the longest scope acknowledgment to our 21.5 kWh artillery that is unsocial successful the market, and we person the accelerated charging. We are the lone 1 present to person the anticipation for customers to take from CHAdeMO and CCS protocols for accelerated charging. That means we are capable to connection accelerated charging successful Europe, Asia and the Americas. There are nary different electrical two-wheeler companies successful the satellite that tin connection this.”

The institution doesn’t conscionable bushed retired different electrical motorcycles but besides crushes apical ICE models. For example, Energica’s bikes measurement little than a Hayabusa and yet laic down implicit 60% much torque.

The Italian motorcycle company’s show pb has existed for years, but the company’s smaller size compared to heavyweights similar Zero and Harley-Davidson has often kept it from receiving its just stock of the spotlight. But with awesome maturation including doubling from 50 to implicit 100 employees successful the past year, and present the injection of backing and enactment from Ideanomics, that looks acceptable to change.

In fact, it appears that Ideanomics has conscionable arsenic overmuch to payment from Energica arsenic the different mode around. Ideanomics’ backing is captious to Energica’s expansion, but the company’s resources proceed beyond specified capital. CEO of Ideanomics Alf Poor explained however the 2 companies instantly began benefitting from 1 another.

“Semiconductors person been a occupation for everyone. It doesn’t substance if you’re a large planetary OEM oregon a institution successful the Ideanomics family. We were looking nether the sofa cushions for microchips and our proviso concatenation teams were capable to find them for Energica, preventing a manufacturing shutdown. And erstwhile you deliberation astir a shutdown, it doesn’t conscionable interaction production. It impacts families and a batch more. And truthful Ideanomics works hard, with the cloth of what we bash being that each institution leans into each other.”

And that two-way thoroughfare volition apt spot Energica’s exertion travel into different Ideanomics-owned companies similar its Solectrac electrical tractors and Treeletrik electrical scooters.

In fact, that’s the full thought down Energica’s caller endeavor known arsenic Energica Inside, which volition assistance non-competing companies usage Energica’s proprietary tech to jumpstart their ain electrical vehicles. Much the mode Polaris kicked disconnected a revolutionary caller RANGER XP Kinetic side-by-side utilizing Zero Motorcycle’s electrical drivetrain, Energica’s ain tech could find its mode into each sorts of EVs from scooters to zambonies to immoderate other your imaginativeness tin imagination up.

Having had the accidental to trial retired a fewer of Energica’s electrical motorcycles earlier this week, I tin vouch for the drivetrains. They’re a thrilling operation of precision power and power. I’ll person much to accidental connected my trial thrust acquisition soon, and I’ll beryllium backmost with a video of the thrust arsenic good successful an upcoming article.

For present though, I tin accidental that I’ve seen what Ideanomics indispensable person already known. In Motor Valley successful Italy, there’s an undervalued electrical motorcycle institution gathering bikes with the champion show specs successful the world.

And possibly adjacent much impressively close now, they’re really pumping retired vehicles contempt the industry’s ruthless proviso concatenation crises.

As CEO of Energica US Stefano Benatti explained to me, the institution has doubled its 14 US dealers to 28, but hasn’t announced the caller dealers yet due to the fact that it is inactive waiting connected bikes to get successful stores:

“We don’t conscionable privation to enactment a pin connected the representation successful our website and brag astir having much dealers if we don’t person bikes determination yet. We privation customers to really beryllium capable to travel and spot the product, which is adjacent much important to us.”

With much bikes expected to get successful the US successful the coming weeks, expect to spot that trader fig turn rapidly – which is simply a bully thing, due to the fact that present I’m hankering for my adjacent Energica ride!

Image credits: Getty

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