ROAM – one in every of Kenya’s main electrical mobility firms – continues to develop its enterprise with new improvements to assist electrify Africa’s roads and promote sustainability. Right now, the corporate launched the ROAM Hub – a multi-purpose electrical bike charging station that gives battery swaps, quick chargers, upkeep, and extra.
ROAM is a Kenyan electrical mobility firm with Swedish roots that was based in 2017 underneath its authentic monicker – Opibus. In a brief time frame, we’ve watched the startup evolve into a real EV developer in Africa, signing offers with mobility juggernauts like Uber, and deploying all-electric transit buses to scale back air and noise air pollution on busy streets in Kenya.
Along with electrical conversions of combustion automobiles used for mining and the all-electric buses, ROAM has been creating and deploying electrical bikes – an enormous mobility phase in Africa – for years now.
Final summer time, we noticed ROAM launch the manufacturing model of its Air electrical bike, full with two swappable battery packs and DC quick charging capabilities. Its demand led the corporate to develop its manufacturing footprint to a brand new headquarters in Nairobi earlier this 12 months, able to producing 50,000 Air bikes yearly.
To assist the rising variety of ROAM electrical bikes hitting roads round Kenya, ROAM has begun deploying progressive new charging hubs positioned to assist incentivize an enormous business in Kenya to go electrical.
ROAM hubs to assist electrical bike taxi charging
Right now, the corporate introduced it has opened Africa’s first ROAM Hub, starting with an preliminary rollout of three websites throughout busy city visitors areas in Kenya’s Nairobi county.
The hubs supply a comparatively small footprint to serve Air electrical bike homeowners with their charging wants, whether or not it’s a quick cost or a battery rental swap. They’re additionally partially powered utilizing photo voltaic power, including additional sustainability to the electrical mobility firm’s mission.
ROAM states that the hubs additionally permit for EVs from its companions (electrical bicycles up to now) to be serviced and recharged. Along with the electrical bike charging capabilities, ROAM hubs are geared up with spare elements and operated by skilled technicians who can assist in upkeep and restore extra rapidly. Along with the charging and upkeep perks, electrical bike homeowners also can go to a neighborhood ROAM Hub to publicly entry software program updates.
This comfort and flexibility was all taken into consideration when ROAM designed its new Hub, stating it was particularly focused towards boda-boda operators – an considerable bike taxi business.
With so many boda-boda bikes on roads, noise and air air pollution has grow to be a severe difficulty within the space, and an enormous think about ROAM’s mission to assist decarbonize the complete business. By providing a extra handy and holistic charging expertise, the corporate appears to draw extra boda-boda drivers to change to one in every of its electrical bikes. ROAM’s power & charging product supervisor Habib Lukaya elaborated:
At ROAM, we imagine that simplifying the charging expertise is important to electrical bike adoption and buyer satisfaction. We’re assured that this hassle-free charging expertise is what is going to finally flip the boda-boda business electrical.
Trying forward, ROAM advised Electrek it should proceed so as to add places to its Hub community within the coming months and intends to have 15 Hubs in operation by the tip of 2023. Try the corporate’s newest video of the ROAM hub in motion beneath.
