This Is The Story Of The Radical Zero-Emission NAWA Racer Motorbike

The NAWA Racer is a 1960s café racer-inspired electric motorbike, powered by a pioneering hybrid system. The advanced tech is the creation of the French firm NAWA Technologies, while the design is a collaboration with the UK studio Envisage Group. At the core sits a lightweight, compact battery that combines a high-energy carbon-based ultracapacitors capable of storing five times more energy than existing technologies with a conventional lithium-ion battery. This means a doubling of power range, as well as a reduction by half in the weight of the battery system. What’s more, NAWA claims the hybrid battery can be applied to a future electric car.

I spoke with Pascal Boulanger, NAWA founder and chief technology officer, and Rebecca Heath, Envisage’s lead color and materials designer, to discover more about the e-motorbike.

Nargess Banks: Rebecca, what was the initial brief from Pascal and the NAWA team?

Rebecca Heath: Our brief was to create a café racer to showcase NAWA Technologies’ innovative hybrid ultracapacitor battery technology. Pascal had given us an initial sketch to show his vision and how the technology could be integrated. This highlighted some key features such as the hub-less rear electric motor and split battery locations, with the ultracapacitor pack in the top tank area and the lithium-ion battery mounted where a conventional petrol engine would otherwise be. Our transportation design team then used a motorbike package to explore forms and volumes.

NB: How did you approach the design; how many ideas were floating around to start with?

RH: Following an initial phase of benchmarking and consumer identity research, our design and color and materials team came up with a series of proposals. We recommended three design proposals – from more rugged to refined café racer styles. The design chosen clearly creates a visual but practical horizontal separation between the two battery locations, with the top tank panel lifting out allowing the ultracapacitor NAWACap pack to be accessed and swapped.

NB: The color and material palette highlights the design well...

RH: Yes, Pascal proposed the striking copper and carbon fiber theme. We then explored different finishes, textures and tones within this palette to give a feeling of richness but also modernity. We went through a series of refinements until we came to the final design and CMF (color, materials and finish) theme. 

NB: For possible future products, what can you achieve in terms of design using NAWA technology?

RH: There are infinite design possibilities. From the overall graphical language and volume of the bike, through to small details. And then by applying different finishes, the whole language and emotion of the product can radically change again. We could have added a windscreen deflector – and had included this on some proposals – but we all agreed that we wanted to have the simplicity of reducing panels, and making the design look less like a cruiser. 

Pascal was very specific in all elements of the design. For example, not desiring wheel spokes. However, elements of the bike could be redesigned to include these and give the bike a very different look. Perhaps if the battery technology is further condensed into one zone, more space could be available for storage.

NB: Pascal, from the technological side, what advantages does this compact hybrid battery system offer for design and packaging?

Pascal Boulanger: Being more compact obviously allows for more design freedom. It also offers the possibility to separate the ultracapacitor battery pack from the lithium-ion battery, which is what has been done with NAWA Racer – clearly marking the boundaries between the two. The system is also much lighter too, which brings further benefits in terms of riding dynamics and overall efficiency.

NB: Did you want the design to so clearly reflect the pioneering hybrid technology?

PB: Absolutely, we want anyone who sees the NAWA Racer to be in no doubt that it is an electric bike – and one that is very different to other e-bikes out there. You only have to look at the way Envisage has designed the separate battery areas to realize that. In terms of our inspiration, we could have gone down the superbike route, but I love café racers and the ethos fits perfectly.

NB: What is it about the urban 1960s café racers that resonates so much?

PB: The original London café racers were lightweight powerful bikes used for short, quick rides between cafés. The NAWA Racer respects this theme – it is also light, boasts a raft of efficiency benefits that no other e-bike can offer and with its 300km urban range, is perfect for the city. 

NB: How has the material story unfolded and how far can you push with exploring light, sustainable materials with a production bike?

PB: Sustainability is a major pillar for NAWA Technologies. Our pioneering ultracapacitors use vertically aligned carbon nanotubes as their basis; carbon is a key material, being both naturally occurring and abundant. For the NAWA Racer, our messages are around efficiency and lightweight. We certainly wanted to reflect all of this in our materials approach for the bike. The NAWA Racer may be very much a concept for now but we asked Envisage to explore materials for the show bike that could make it onto a production version. 

NB: Clearly the bike’s use of carbon and lightweight materials looks forward to a wider use in the future of transport. Rebecca, how do you approach materials with such projects?

RH: Yes, carbon fiber and lightweight composites are some of the key materials featured in the NAWA Racer. Carbon is strong, robust and has longevity. In terms of the future, it is an incredibly exciting time for new material compositions and inventions. So much research is currently being undertaken for the materials of the future. Recycled carbon is being used and explored but mainly viable for aesthetic finishes rather than structural components. 

For finishes such as paints, Nano coatings are being developed which help save every gram of weight. They do not offer as much durability right now, so would require further R&D, but that is certainly an area where things could be pushed further

NB: Do you feel the buyer is ready to accept industrial products which are daring with their use of materials?

PB: Consumers are increasingly desiring products with more of an emotional connection - products which can tell a story. Here, the camel nubuck seat was selected to add texture and warmth. Over time it will mark and age, but we see this as a positive idea around the story telling.

NB: NAWA has said the hybrid technology is transferable to an electric vehicle. Can you explain how?

PB: In many ways there is even more design freedom with an electric vehicle, because there is so much more body to play with. The beauty of our hybrid ultracapacitor battery system is that it reduces weight and is more compact than a conventional system, but as we have shown with the NAWA Racer, it is possible to make a design feature of our NAWACap ultracapacitor pack and to celebrate the fact that the bike could only be electric. We foresee the same approach with an electric car.

NB: Creating the NAWA Racer appears to have been a seamless process.

RH: Yes, the decision-making was always clear and smooth, because Pascal and NAWA had a clear vision and we were able to successfully realize that for them while adding our skilled design experience.

Learn more about the NAWA bike here, read about some of the other exciting two-wheel e-transport ideas, including Rad Power Bike’s RadRunner, the inventive Zbee e-pod by Swedish brand Clean Motion, see some of the e-mobility concepts from the Frankfurt Motor Show, an autonomous bus and three-wheel robot and Audi’s Ride e-tron scooter which promises skateboard thrills, plus see some of the more interesting transport ideas driving the future.