KENYA – TotalEnergies has partnered with Ampersand, a Rwandan-based company, to launch an electric motorcycle battery swapping and charging stations in Kenya.
With nearly 400 bikes on the road and 35,000 swaps per month, Ampersand is pioneering the switch to electric motorbikes which they believe will save on fuel and maintenance while doubling the boda boda drivers’ income.
Ampersand aims to offer a fit-for-purpose motorcycle, a reliable battery that costs less than fuel, and advanced swap technology. This means the Kenyan motorcycle industry will enjoy affordable clean energy whereas every driver using the Ampersand electric bike reduces carbon emissions by more than 80%.
Boda boda riders in Nairobi will be able to swap in TotalEnergies Hurlingham, Dagoretti, and Mountain View service stations. The battery swap is done within minutes and the swap stations will enable drivers to exchange their depleted batteries for recharged ones in the different locations.
The charging stations will provide clean, affordable, and reliable energy powered by electricity which is in line with TotalEnergies’ mission.
TotalEnergies and Ampersand are building a Kenya that is powered by clean energy that is accessible, safe, and affordable for all.
This initiative is in line with TotalEnergies’ climate ambition of net zero emissions by 2050. TotalEnergies has actively been on an energy transition journey in Kenya & 141 out of 226 service stations in their network are currently powered by solar.
Launched commercially in May 2019, Ampersand assembles and finances electric motorcycles that cost less to buy and operate and perform better than the five million petrol motorcycle taxis in use across East Africa.
Since its commercial launch in May 2019, Ampersand’s team has performed over 50,000 battery swaps, powering its fleet of 56 drivers for over two million kilometres. The startup has been fundraising to help it scale, and earlier this year secured a US$4 million investment from the Ecosystem Integrity Fund (EIF) and TotalEnergies.
The core of Ampersand’s business is the network of battery swap stations and fleet of batteries it builds and operates, which allows drivers to swap batteries faster than refilling a tank with petrol and shields vehicle buyers from the high upfront cost of a lithium battery pack.
This partnership comes months after Ampersand secured US$9 million loan facility from the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) to expand its operations in Rwanda and Kenya.
The loan was part of DFC’s Portfolio for Impact and Innovation (PI²) initiative and contributes to its commitment to the US Energy Compact and its target to address climate change with one third of its investments by 2023.
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