Jersey City, New Jersey, says it has launched the nation’s first permanent municipal e-mobility battery swapping program in conjunction with bicycle pod provider Oonee.
The program, which uses technology from Berlin-based Swobbee, will result in safer and more convenient charging of e-bikes and e-scooters, project partners said.
In recent years, the rise of e-mobility, particularly among delivery workers, has contributed to deadly fires resulting from faulty batteries and overloaded electrical circuits. Between 2019 and 2023, fires related to e-mobility devices caused as many as 25 deaths, 324 injuries and $518.6 million in damages in New York City, according to a recent report by UL Standards & Engagement. Outdoor kiosks for e-mobility device charging and battery swapping are seen as one method of reducing the fire risk.
Last year, New York City conducted a six-month pilot program that installed five battery swapping stations from PopWheels and Swobbeewhich a preapproved group of delivery workers could access. The sites saw more than 12,000 battery swaps in that period and reduced at-home charging by more than one-third, the New York City Department of Transportation reported. The city extended the program, which is still available at three sites according to the DOT website.
The Jersey City battery swapping program, offered at two locations, will allow commuters, delivery workers and other micromobility users to access fully charged batteries that are UL certified as safe.
Delivery workers will benefit from “a space that makes their work just a little bit easier and safer while eliminating the downtime” while batteries are charging, Swobbee U.S. General Manager Stephan von Wolff said in an email. He added that it’s “a step toward making micromobility truly practical for city life, not just for delivery workers but for anyone relying on e-bikes to get around.”
The battery swapping project is not the first time Jersey City has pioneered new micromobility support services. Last year, the city launched a bicycle parking network, also in conjunction with Oonee — the first free network of its kind in the country. The seven parking stations also have charging capabilities for e-bikes and e-scooters.
Oonee founder and CEO Shabazz Stuart says he hopes his company will soon announce more parking stations with battery swapping technology in New York and New Jersey. The Jersey City project is unique, Stuart said. Other localities are thinking about safe and convenient public charging, “but [they] haven't put all the elements together the way that we're doing in Jersey City.”
In January, the U.S. Joint Office of Energy and Transportation announced a nearly $3.8 million grant for Oonee and Swobbee to build parking stations with battery swapping in Jersey City and Minneapolis. Like other federal grants, the award is on hold despite multiple court orders for the Trump administration to unfreeze federal funding. “We're waiting on clarity from the Trump administration on the funding,” said Stuart. The company plans to use the funding for 10 additional parking stations in Jersey City, which would bring the total number to 17.
“This infrastructure is critical” for e-mobility users, Stuart said, “as critical as gas station[s are] for automobiles.”
