Before he built a battery-swapping network for Indonesian motorcycles, Irwan Tjahaja made batteries for phones. His next business turns on a familiar promise: get your energy, then get on with your day.
Swap Energi is an Indonesian e-mobility startup that runs Southeast Asia's largest battery-swapping network for electric motorcycles. Instead of waiting to charge, riders exchange a depleted portable lithium-ion battery for a fully charged one at more than 1,500 stations - a process that takes roughly nine seconds. The company pairs this energy network with its own SMOOT smart electric motorcycles and a rider app, and has raised about US$29 million to electrify Indonesia's fleet of over 125 million two-wheelers.