Honda’s Mobile Power Pack Is Now Powering Tourist Boats In Japan

From land to water, the applications for Honda’s Mobile Power Pack are seemingly endless.

Enrico Punsalang

By: Enrico Punsalang

Jul 31, 2023 at 7:06pm ET

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Nearly all major automotive and motorcycle brands across the world have already begun developing technology surrounding electric mobility. Now more than ever, the shift towards green mobility is picking up pace around Europe and Asia. Indeed, this trend shows no signs of slowing down, with multiple companies penning dates for when they plan to be completely carbon neutral.

Yamaha, for instance, has been hard at work not just when it comes to electric vehicles, but also when it comes to alternative fuels such as hydrogen. The company’s president recently announced his intentions of taking hydrogen power more seriously moving forward. In a similar vein, Honda has also announced initiatives geared towards carbon neutrality, eyeing a 2050 target to be 100 percent carbon neutral. It seems that the brand’s Power Pack is paving the way for this, as it’s now being tested in multiple applications both in and out of Japan.

We’ve been talking about Honda’s Power Pack for quite some time now, and since its debut in 2021, it’s proven to be quite the effective “universal solution” as far as e-power is concerned. Back in 2021, the company announced that it was testing the innovative battery solution in India, specifically for commercial three wheelers. The Power Pack also saw subsequent use on construction equipment and heavy machinery. Much more recently, the Power Pack was used to power the EM1 electric scooter, a new urban mobility vehicle that was just launched in Europe.

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Needless to say, it seems that the uses for Honda’s Power Pack are endless, as the latest news surrounding this innovative bit of tech is that it’s now being used on small boats in Matsue City in Japan. More specifically, it’s being used for tourism purposes on the Horikawa Pleasure Boat, a tour boat that allows visitors to get a view of the Matsue Castle. The tour is operated by the Matsue City Tourism Promotion Public Corporation, which itself is eyeing what’s called “Carbon-Neutral Tourism.”

The motor used to propel the boat is co-developed by Honda and another Japanese manufacturer by the name of Tohatsu, which is best known for its heavy industrial equipment such as boats, trucks, drainage, and refrigeration solutions. It consists of a four-kilowatt electric motor powered by Honda’s Mobile Power Pack. Tohatsu then developed the frame, gear case, and lower unit of the assembly.