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Taiwan's Buima E-Bikes get a push from net zero

Ninelu Tu; Samuel Howarth, DIGITIMES Asia 0

Credit: DIGITIMES

Net zero is driving the dexvelopment of the E-Bike industry.

Taiwan's Buima Group started in the decorative building materials industry. The company is now riding a green wave and ventured into developing green energy industries such as renewable energy, energy storage, and electric-assist bicycles (E-Bike).

Buima General Manager, Chuang Hung-wei said the green energy push will provide new growth momentum for 2024.

Buima was optimistic about the development trends of the green energy industry early on. The company entered the fields of renewable energy and energy storage in 2020.

Buima has strengthened core technologies with investments in companies like Zuomao and GWA Energy. The company has also targeted applications such as electric-assist bicycles, electric cargo bikes (E-Cargo), energy storage walls, electric vehicle charging stations, and energy storage sites.

Speaking about the company's entrance into the energy storage wall business, Chuang said the company completed the installation and operation of two energy storage demonstration sites in the Kyushu region of Japan. They added received positive feedback from Japanese distribution customers, he added.

Buima is advancing the progress of Japanese JIS and European IEC safety certification applications. The acquisition of product safety certifications is expected to expand the sales contribution of the energy storage wall business.

In the E-Cargo market, Buima integrated GWA Energy's electric control integration technology, with lithium-iron battery modules as the core, to launch a dual-motor system for electric tricycles. At the same time, the company introduced an integrated electric control, battery, and motor three-electric system for electric-assist bicycle products.

Regarding the electric-assist bicycle market, Chuang said that Buima plans to introduce exclusive electronic shifting technology. The company hopes to expand the application market breadth of electric tricycles through four-electric system integration.

Wu Chih-Hung, the General Manager of GWA is responsible for system integration. He said the global electric-assist bicycle market is booming.

To provide riders with a one-click start and an optimized riding experience, GWA introduced exclusive electronic shifting technology based on the existing three-electric system integration technology of batteries, electric controls, and motors, said Wu. He added that the company aims to achieve a new technological milestone of four-electric system integration.

Wu said GWA mainly focuses on three-electric integration solutions and battery controller technology for e-bikes and E-Cargo. In addition to holding multiple key invention patents, the company collaborates with Taiwan's battery production manufacturing sector.

So far, GWA has sold more than 160,000 sets of three-electric system integrations and over 100,000 sets of automatic electronic shifting-related products to regions such as the Netherlands, Germany, and Denmark.

Buima's Chuang said he sees growth opportunities in expanding subsidies for E-Bikes and E-Cargo by European governments and actively promoting public purchases of electric-assist bicycles for commuting. Chuang added that increased transportation costs caused by wars will also lead to e-bike growth.

Research firm TechNavio estimates that the global E-Bike market can maintain a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 6.95% for the next five years. By 2028, the global E-Bike market size is expected to expand to USD16.48 billion,

It is understood that Buima currently owns subsidiaries such as ZOMO and Quantitative Energy. ZOMO is mainly responsible for battery module OEM production, while Quantitative Energy focuses on developing E-Bike and E-Cargo fields. Buima plays an integrated role, providing various green energy solutions according to customer needs.

GWA's three-electric system mainly cooperates with Taiwanese factories, and automatic shifting-related products also cooperate with relevant Taiwanese companies. Moving forward they may expand cooperation from the component end.