Boston is known for a few things: exceptional schools, sensational sports teams and considerable traffic.
In 2018, Boston even had the worst rush-hour traffic congestion in the entire nation, with drivers wasting an average of 164 hours stuck in traffic, according to a report by traffic research firm INRIX. Even crazier, in 2019, 49 percent of all automobile trips in Boston were less than three miles long.
Few people understand this traffic problem more than Natasha George, co-founder of SomeEV, a micromobility startup in Somerville.
“Micromobility vehicles can be defined as lightweight vehicles that operate under 28 miles per hour and are generally vehicles that don't have an internal combustion engine,” said George, a graduate of Boston University. “Micromobility falls under the umbrella of Light Electric Vehicles, which can be classified as vehicles that have between one to four wheels, are battery-powered and weigh less than 200 pounds.”
George co-founded The Somerville Electric Vehicle Company, or SomEV, in 2019 with her husband, Reece. The startup recently began accepting preorders for its electric kick scooter and moped. Powered by batteries developed by SomEV at cleantech incubator Greentown Labs, the vehicles have a classic look and feel. The SomEV moped has a retro scooter design and is currently only available in white; the S1 electric scooter is reminiscent of the shared kick scooters that have taken over cities over the last few years.
Both are available for pre-order now and are expected to hit roads this fall.
Customers have two purchasing options: They can either buy the vehicle and batteries up front, or they can buy the vehicle and rent the batteries from SomEV on a monthly basis. If you were to, for example, buy the SomEV moped in white, you would pay $2,699 for the vehicle itself. If you wanted to lease the battery, you'd pay $20 per month for one battery pack or $36 per month for two. If you'd prefer to buy the battery, each one will cost you an additional $800 up front.
George calls SomEV's battery leasing model "Batteries-as-a-service," or BaaS.
“With the BaaS model, our customers buy the vehicle and lease the battery with a monthly subscription," George said. "The technology aspect of our company is our patented Smart Battery Swap Kiosk that can charge, store and monitor our battery packs, so that when a SomEV rider is running low on charge, they simply locate the nearest kiosk and swap out their drained battery pack for a fully charged one in just a few minutes."
There are a few benefits to the company’s BaaS model, according to George. There is a lower upfront cost for customers, riders don’t have to worry about battery maintenance, and they can upgrade their old batteries for a new one if the battery’s performance has deteriorated.
The e-Scooter, which costs $620 for the vehicle alone, can travel 15 miles at a time. The e-Moped can travel 35 miles with one battery pack or 70 miles with two battery packs.
Customers also don’t have to worry about battery maintenance.
“Batteries, being chemical in nature, decay as a function of time and that decay is irreversible," George said. "It doesn’t make sense to tie the chemical component, the battery, to the mechanical component, the vehicle... If they’re tied together, the user ends up having to discard the entire vehicle when the battery fails or doesn’t have the same performance."
SomEV allows customers to exchange their batteries when their performance begins to deteriorate. With the old batteries, SomEV will either repair them, use them for spare parts or recycle them, George said.
In order to determine range and performance, the batteries and vehicles endure several rounds of rigorous testing in the company’s battery lab at Greentown Labs.
If e-Scooters and e-Mopeds aren’t your thing, don’t worry. The company will be releasing preorders for its e-Bike in the coming weeks.
“I like to describe electric micromobility as a mode of transport that doesn't discriminate by age or physical ability," George said. "It's truly for everyone.”
Want to see the vehicles in action? Check out some photos below.
SomEV
Emma Campbell is a contributing writer for BostInno.
