When Elon Musk first unveiled Tesla’s “master plan” in 2006, it seemed far-fetched that batteries would transform the auto industry, and even more so the world’s power production and consumption. Today, as electric cars continue to gain market share and giant batteries replace power plants that belch smoke from the electric grid, the concept seems less far-fetched. This year, in the U.S. alone, developers plan to add 15 gigawatts of grid-scale battery capacity.
But Michael Spencer thinks the changes taking place in places like the U.S., Europe, and China are just the beginning. “Tesla’s master plan has more legs, more space, and lower hurdles in emerging markets,” he told TechCrunch.
To prove it, Spencer, a Tesla alumnus, founded Zeno in 2022. The previously secretive startup has been systematically exploring how batteries can transform lives in emerging markets, starting in East Africa. The company has hired a significant number of talent, including Swaroop Bhushan, who helped design Lucid’s powertrain; Rob Newberry, who helped oversee the development of Apple’s AirPort and Apple TV; and others from Gogoro, Tesla, and more. Zeno’s first product is a motorcycle with swappable batteries.
But in Spencer’s vision, that’s just the beginning. The swappable batteries won’t just power Africa’s motorbikes, they’ll power other parts of their lives, too.
In East African cities, motorcycle taxis, known as boda-bodas, are widespread, helping people navigate suffocating traffic for a fraction of the cost of taxis or private vehicles. But the costs for drivers can be astronomical. Spencer points out that motorcycle taxi drivers spend about 50 percent of their income on fuel, far more than a few percent of California commuters.
Taking a cue from Taiwanese startup Gogoro, which helped pioneer the battery swapping concept for scooters, entrepreneurs across Africa have taken it to their own extremes. The bikes are sold with a chassis that has a slot where riders can plug in a rental battery. When the pack is nearly empty, riders can find a nearby place to swap for a fully charged pack. As a result, swapping stations from startups like Ampersand Solar, Arc Ride, Roam, Spiro, and Zembo have sprouted up like grass after a monsoon rain.
Zeno is the latest entrant into the field. The company started by testing 40 Chinese-made electric motorcycles of various models in Kenya to see how they would perform. It took only a few months for the motorcycles to be discarded. They simply weren’t designed to be taxis on East Africa’s rough roads. But Spencer says the experience proved his point. It also showed something else.
“There were a lot of questions like, ‘Why can’t we use these batteries for something else?’” Spencer recalled. “We’ve seen people hack into batteries to power lights during power outages or to run a mill in a store.”
The Zeno team knew they needed a more durable, heavier bike that could carry a driver, a passenger or two, and maybe some cargo. They’re working with a manufacturer in India to produce a bike that meets their specifications, and soon after that model launches, other manufacturers will come out with their own two-, three-, and light four-wheeled vehicles that will be compatible with the startup’s batteries, Spencer said.
A bigger bike requires more power, so it needs a bigger battery. The Zeno’s lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) battery pack holds 2 kilowatt-hours of electricity, and the bike can accommodate two packs. Spencer said that will give the bike a little more range than most taxi drivers need in a day.
The extra capacity “opens all other doors.” Spencer and his colleagues began building docks where people could use the spare power from their motorcycles to charge their phones and run a variety of home appliances.
“We built a prototype of an induction cooktop that runs on swappable motorcycle batteries and we’ve got a pretty cool little microcosm,” Spencer said.
A motorcycle taxi driver can drive home after a day’s work, plug the battery into the stove, cook dinner, and then eat breakfast the next morning. At that point, they’ll have 10 to 15 percent of their charge left, enough to drive back to town and fully replace the battery at a self-service station. All parts of the system are connected to the internet, so the company can monitor the battery, forecast demand, and facilitate financing. The bikes use Type 6 connectors, so drivers can plug in to a public charger during their lunch break, for example, or charge overnight at home if needed. The company is also building a charging network that non-Zeno drivers can use.
Zeno’s first bikes are expected to hit the roads of East Africa and India in early 2025. Customers will have to buy or lease the vehicles, which will cost less than a new gasoline model if configured without a battery. The startup leases the batteries on a subscription basis (though people can also buy them outright if they want). Customers can add energy to their subscription bundles or buy them separately on a pay-as-you-go model. Zeno’s goal is to make the bikes cheaper than gasoline bikes, with the up-front cost of the bikes and the initial battery subscription. And since electric bikes cost about half as much to power a gasoline model, the savings add up over time, Spencer said.
The company plans to launch a home battery dock equipped with solar panels shortly after the bike launches, which Spencer hopes will open up a new market.
“If you don’t have a grid connection, you can bring the batteries home from the swap station and power your home. If you want to install solar at home, the home docking station acts as a solar inverter to charge the batteries. So you can be a Zeno battery subscriber for 10 years and never have to swap batteries again.”
The company recently raised $9.5 million in a seed round led by Lowercarbon Capital and Toyota Ventures, with participation from 4DX Ventures, Active Impact, Advantedge, MCJ, and RedBlue, to fund its launch and expansion.
Zeno’s playbook is certainly similar to Tesla’s, offering customers a low-cost electric vehicle. But by focusing on portable batteries, Zeno is selling the ability to use energy at any time, more like how people use fossil fuels today. The bike is a key part of the sales strategy, but the battery may be the real selling point.
