When it comes to micro-mobility, electric bicycles and scooters have proven to be an easy and accessible way of getting around in the urban setting. There have been tons of new e-mobility startups to join the game recently, with a lot of them selling pretty much the same thing—two wheels and a battery, all packaged in a tech-loaded lightweight EV.
Usually, these things can last anywhere between three to five years, perhaps even more if you take good care of your stuff. But more often than not, once their batteries have been completely depleted, they’re pretty much destined for the scrap yard.
This is where a battery startup by the name of Gouach enters the picture.
According to Gouach, when an e-bike battery fails, it’s usually the fault of just one or two cells that have gone bad inside, or perhaps another electrical component. But since manufacturers sell their batteries as fully assembled units, the batteries aren’t repairable and need to be disposed of entirely.
To solve this problem, Gouach created the aptly named Infinite Battery, and the way it works is pretty simple, yet effective. So effective that it just might make EVs a whole lot more sustainable if the tech becomes widely adopted.
Instead of focusing on the entire package as a whole, Gouach instead developed a fully serviceable battery that was designed to be easy to work on. Users can have access to individual cells and electrical components, only replacing the parts that actually need replacing. So yeah, technically, this battery could last forever.
Though it would come to a point where you’ll find yourself facing Theseus’ paradox. Is it still the same battery as before if you ever come to a point where every single cell and electrical component has been replaced? Maybe, maybe not.
But the whole point here is that there’s less waste, lower costs on the part of the user, and of course, added peace of mind knowing that if something goes wrong with the battery, you won’t be spending hundreds, if not thousands of dollars just to replace it.
Goucach even says that you don’t need any electrical expertise or special tools to replace the cells of the infinite battery. The thing makes use of weld-less and wireless technology, so slotting in replacement cells is quite literally as easy as changing out the batteries on your TV remote.
Oh, and the Infinite battery claims to be compatible with most e-bike brands and models in the market today. Gouach goes as far as saying that if your current battery has only two wires going to the motor, then the Infinite Battery is a simple and direct install.
But of course, creating something as delicate as a battery that can be worked on by pretty much anyone requires some serious attention to safety. I mean, you’re quite literally playing with fire here, right? Well, Gouach says that it developed a thermal management system to ensure the Infinite Battery never catches fire. But if for whatever reason it does, they’ve baked in a redundancy in the form of a fire-proof casing which Gouach says is “able to withstand the complete burning of the battery pack.”
Clearly, all this sounds too good to be true, but Gouach is adamant on delivering on its promise. You can find all the details you’re looking for on the company’s Indiegogo landing page, where they’ve raised close to 200,000 euros as of this writing. Once out in the market, Gouach will offer worldwide shipping for the Inifnite Battery, with distribution hubs in Los Angeles, Amsterdam, and Hong Kong. Deliveries to customers are expected by January of 2025.
So yeah, this certainly seems promising, particularly for folks looking to get into electric mobility for the long haul. Sustainability has always been a big issue when it comes to batteries—not just for EVs, but for our gadgets and appliances, too. And Gouach’s approach of treating a battery pack not as a single part, but rather an assembly of parts in which individual components can be replaced, is certainly a good way of thinking.
Should Gouach’s modular and repairable battery pack see success in the micro-mobility world, there’s a good chance that similar tech could make its way to larger applications. Perhaps electric motorcycles and powersports vehicles, and maybe even later on, full-on electric cars.
Source: Gouach via Indiegogo
