For anyone who has ever watched their electric bike battery creep toward empty with miles still to go, range anxiety is real.
At CES 2026, Japanese cleantech startup Hello Space thinks it has an answer, and it doesn’t involve bigger batteries or bulkier motors.
Instead, its new MAG DRIVE system is designed to recharge the bike while you ride, without adding noticeable resistance to the pedals.
MAG DRIVE sits in the bike’s mid-hub and integrates a generator, gearbox, sensors and two separate batteries.
As you pedal, the generator reportedly produces between 100W and 250W, topping up one battery while the other powers the motor, then automatically switching between them as charge levels change.
Hello Space says each battery can fully recharge in two to three hours of normal riding, potentially cutting down how often riders need to hunt for a wall socket.
Silent current
Hello Space has been working on the tech since 2021 in collaboration with Toyota Tsusho Nexty Electronics Group, and the company plans to demo the system on what it calls the world’s first “self-powering Smart E-bike” at CES.
It also claims the regenerative system operates with “zero magnetic resistance”, which, if true, would be a big difference from most regenerative setups that add drag the moment you try to create extra power.
Alongside the e-bike demo, Hello Space is showing a Smart Spin Bike using the same technology.
Indoors, the idea shifts from range to resilience: the exercise bike can feed power back into a bank or devices, generating between 200W and 660W, turning a workout into a tiny backup power source.
Charge in motion
Hello Space has signed a memorandum of understanding with Indian EV manufacturer XERO to co-develop Smart E-bikes for global bike-sharing fleets, delivery vehicles and fitness uses, with production targeted to start in 2026.
The company also describes MAG DRIVE as attachable and compatible with existing in-wheel drive motors, hinting at retrofit potential.
Of course, the promise is huge, and so are the questions. Self-charging systems usually involve trade-offs, and talk of “zero resistance” plus full recharges purely from pedalling will need to prove itself outside the booth.
Real-world loads, hills, rider weight and weather still matter.
But if Hello Space delivers even part of what it’s promising, MAG DRIVE could shift e-bikes in a meaningful way.
Less plugging in, fewer dead-battery panics, and a smarter power system constantly working in the background could take a big bite out of range anxiety, and that might make more riders comfortable going electric in the first place.
Head over to Hello Space for more info on the new technology.
