Nawa Technologies has presented a new motorcycle prototype called ‘Nawa Racer’, which is the world’s first-ever hybrid battery-ultracapacitor bike. This system is meant to serve as a demonstration of the technology, showing its amazing potential to the world.
Electric bikes are typically heavy, as they need to carry around battery cells to power their motors. By using the ‘NAWACap’ ultracapacitor, which is a device for storing electrical energy, not as many batteries are required, so the bike’s overall weight is kept to a relatively meager 150 kg (330 lbs).
Of course, ultracapacitors are ideal for quick bursts of acceleration, motor starts, and short distance traveling, but it appears that Nawa has stricken a balance in the configuration, promising an urban range of 300 km (185 miles). The mixed range figure is a still respectable 150 km.
In terms of performance, the Nawa Racer features a 100PS hubless rim motor that is capable of taking the rider up to a max speed of 160 km/h (100 mph).
The NAWACap offers ten times more power and five times more energy than existing ultracapacitors. The product relies upon 15 years of R&D work at Nawa Technologies, and is the fruit of the work of 25 nanomaterial experts.
The company is also working on carbon batteries and has produced promising high-energy prototypes on its pilot production line. However, that tech hasn’t matured enough to find a place inside the Nawa Racer.
As the firm explains in its press release, the Racer was created to demonstrate the world’s first hybrid battery system, its versatility, and scalability. The company hopes that other e-bike manufacturers or even EV carmakers will license the technology to make lighter electric vehicles.
Unfortunately, there are no plans to build the Nawa Racer in volumes, but you never know. AKKA Technologies was the entity that built the real-life prototype, and for now, they put it on display at the EICMA 2021 show in Milan.
