The Nagawatt electric motorcycle. - VT
VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/Asia News Network): The Nagawatt project, a spinoff brand of the Laos-based company Animo Co, Ltd, converted a petrol dirt bike to electric propulsion, then designed and developed its proprietary battery pack.
Covering a distance of 673km from Vientiane to Pakxe in Champassak province without recharging, the Nagawatt project has achieved by far the greatest distance ever covered with a bike on a single charge.
The previous Guinness Book record for this category was only 320km.
The pilot team and officials from the Department of Metrology and Standardisation left Vientiane on Feb 20 at 4.20am and reached Pakxe at 9.10pm.
The whole ride was recorded on video and tracked by GPS for official accreditation. The pilot did not rest a single time, making this technological world record also an impressive display of physical prowess! The rest of the team escorted the dirt bike with two pick-ups.
The Nagawatt project was started by Jean-François Reumaux and Nathanael Maury in Laos to design and develop powerful, rugged, long-lasting battery packs, using only the best of today’s technology for mobility applications.
They say that as mobility electrification is ramping up worldwide, most cheap electric vehicles still use modest battery packs that have limited range and a short life cycle. This tends to negatively impact the overall cost of usage as well as the reputation of electric vehicles in terms of reliability.
With this amazing range, the project has demonstrated that the technology is really trustworthy. Before attempting this world record, the Nagawatt battery packs were tested in all-weather conditions over a distance of 10,000km. This battery pack is designed to achieve 500,000km.
“We chose to challenge the world record with a real-life drive – not on a circuit – to show our confidence in our technology. Since Laos has no petrol and produces most of its electricity from renewable sources, we wish to support the development of clean, strong, long-lasting electric mobility.
"Last but not least, our witness pick-up trucks each used 1 million kip for fuel while the electric dirt bike, which was charged before departure, used only 10,000 kips worth of electricity!” said the director of the Nagawatt project, Jef Reumaux.
Nathanael Maury, who rode the electric motorbike, said the 17-hour ride from Vientiane to Pakxe was very smooth, quiet, and not so tiring after all due to the low vibration from the bike.
‘’From now on, I will stick to electric biking; no looking back to the petrol alternative!” Nathanael said.
The Nagawatt project is currently developing electric boat solutions that provide powerful, rugged and quiet long-tailed propulsion kits tailored for all needs. Contact Nathanael (020 52 33 57 51) or Jef (020 55 02 17 02) for more information.
