During the soft launching of the first SPBKLU, the work of the ITS lecturer team in the Jimbaran 2 area of Bali, last June 2022

ITS Campus, ITS News – The work of Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS) in supporting technological progress through various research deserves two thumbs up. This time, the research team of ITS lecturers, together with PT Wiksa Daya Pratama (WDP), succeeded in initiating the General Electric Vehicle Battery Exchange Station (SPBKLU) as an effort to encourage the electric vehicle ecosystem in Indonesia.

The head of the research team from ITS, Alief Wikarta ST MScEng PhD revealed that three of the nine SPBKLU units were the result of research funded by the Kedaireka matching fund program. The other six were ordered by PT Pertamina and deployed in Bali to succeed in the G20 Summit. “This SPBKLU can later be used by online transportation drivers who use GESITS local motorbikes,” he explained.

According to Alief, this research was motivated by the number of users who felt that charging electric motor batteries took a long time. “To shorten the time, we innovate to create a battery exchange outlet so that users feel more comfortable and efficient,” said the ITS Mechanical Engineering Department lecturer.

Alief Wikarta ST MScEng PhD (right) with the PT WDP team during the 2021 Indonesia Electric Motor Show (IEMS) exhibition

In addition, PT WDP Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Mochammad Ilham Firdaus STrKom explained that SPBKLU has ten battery slots with a sliding cabinet model. In addition, this product is also supported by the RS485 CAN 2.0 communication protocol and Local Area Network (LAN) or Wi-Fi networks. “This product has multiple protections, such as lightning protection, over-load protection, over-charge protection, short circuit protection, and temperature protection,” he explained.

This SPBKLU is also equipped with a 12V 7Ah backup battery that can provide energy reserves for three to four hours in idle or standby conditions. No less important, every SPBKLU unit has a security camera installed. The interface embedded in the SPBKLU is also Android-based, so the technicality of exchanging batteries is easier.

One of the Battery Swap Stations (BSS) or SPBKLU located at the Hayam Wuruk Public Fuel Filling Station (SPBU), Denpasar, Bali

Users only need to exchange the old battery with a new one already available in the SPBKLU drawer in less than five minutes. “With the help of the ITS research team, we also designed the Wiksa Swap Station, an application for users to monitor and conduct QR Code-based transactions,” said the man who is usually called Ilham.

Not only that, he continued, this application also contains unique features. Among them are parts of the location of the nearest SPBKLU, transaction history, battery status, and SPBKLU in real-time. Users can download this application via the PlayStore and AppStore on their respective smartphones.

In addition to Alief, who represented the ITS Mechanical Engineering Department, the other 12 lecturers came from seven different disciplines. Among those from ITS are the Department of Industrial Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Informatics Engineering, Visual Communication Design, System and Industrial Engineering, and Instrumentation Engineering, to the Internet Engineering Technology study program from the Surabaya State Electronics Polytechnic (PENS). “In designing the SPBKLU, we should not only focus on the manufacturing system but also design, electronics, application development, and the business sector,” he explained.

SPBKLU is the result of ITS and PT WDP innovation developed and commercialized by Pertamina in Bali

Although several similar products are already on the market, the SPBKLU by the ITS research team is designed with superior algorithms and more practical applications. Even so, Alief admitted that he experienced several challenges when developing the application, especially on the security side, considering that there are currently rampant cases of data breaches. “In the future, we will continue to pay attention to security so that user’s data will not leak,” he confirmed.

Interface of the Wiksa Swap Station application for transactions and monitoring the design of the ITS lecturer team

Alief believes that electric motorcycles will become a necessity in the future. For this reason, the lecturer who earned his doctorate at the National Taiwan University of Science and Technology (NTUST) did not want local brands to be displaced by foreign brands. “We will try to be consistent in designing innovations such as this SPBKLU so that local works can be the first choice for consumers,” he concluded optimistically. (ITS PR)

Reporter: Erchi Ad’ha Loyensya