Energica Founder Leads the Charge for Electric Bikes

Imagine the scene: you’re finally seated amidst the boisterous mob at the first race of the MotoGP circuit in Qatar. You can barely contain your excitement, waiting for the thrill—the speed, the sound, pure, heart-rattling velocity. Instead, as all the racers make their way to their positions you feel something else—a hush that sweeps not only across the stands, but settles on the track. Quietly, all the motorcycles buzz into place. This is exactly the silent, electric future of motorcycle racing that Energica Motor Company S.p.A. CEO Livia Cevolini imagined, and she’s building it one electric superbike at a time.

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Livia Cevolini came by her passion for racing honestly. The daughter and sister of high-tech Italian CRP founders Roberto and Franco Cevolini, she graduated with an Engineering degree from the Università degli Studi di Parma. After working in the pits with Ferrari Formula 1, Cevolini first considered channeling her knowledge and creativity into electric cars. Extensive market research pointed in the direction of motorcyclesm however. So, in 2008, Cevolini embarked on a project to design the ultimate electric race machine. In 2009, Energica conceived of and built the first eCRP, an all-electric superbike.

In less than a decade Energica has established itself as an important innovator in the automotive sector, in the emergent field of high-performing electric motorcycles.

“Our history comes from racing,” Cevolini said. “Our passion for this sector has never faded”.

In 2019, Energica will enter its Ego Corsa into the first ever FIM Enel MotoE World Cup, a series of 5 World Championship races that will take place over five of the regularly scheduled MotoGP races. The bike has a synchronous oil-cooled motor with permanent magnets that allows a maximum continuous power of 110 kW (147 hp/cv) and a torque of 200 Nm. The Ego Corsa also has a very impressive acceleration—from 0 to 60 mph in just three seconds, reaching a top speed of up to 155 mph (250 km/h).

Livia Cevolini is a disruptor. She has brought the electric motorcycle to the MotoGP track and is a female CEO in the male-dominated automotive industry. Though more interested in making a ground breaking electronic race bike than a political point, she knows that it matters that she is a woman. While the number of women in the sport continues to rise, the number of women who make up the workforce in the manufacturing sector is minimal. This is why she actively recruits women to work at Energica and encourages young women to study STEM in school.

More women, more power, less of a carbon footprint, and plenty more to watch for from Livia Cevolini and Energica.

Source: Forbes, Energica

Photos: Energica/Massimo Sestini