Pollen, a Portuguese startup developing a universal battery-swapping network for mopeds and motorcycles, has raised €3.2 million in a funding round led by Pale Blue Dot and Mustard Seed Maze.
Other investors in the round include Kfund, Bynd, 4P Capital, Masia, and several angel investors, such as George Kalligeros, vice president of hardware at Tier, Gui Telles, former chief operating officer of Uber/Jump, and Bastian Cransac, vice president for Europe and the Americas at Lime.
Pollen, founded in 2024 by Rui Bento and Miguel Morgado, is creating a network of automated battery-swapping stations and a universal battery pack that works with vehicles from different manufacturers.
Bento previously launched and led Uber in Portugal and Spain, as well as Uber Eats in Southern Europe, before founding Kitch, a cloud kitchen startup that Glovo acquired in 2022. Morgado founded Hunter Boards.
More than 97% of mopeds and motorcycles in Europe still run on petrol, making two-wheelers the most dependent on fossil fuels among road vehicles. There are over 55 million internal-combustion-engine two-wheelers on the continent. Electrification has been slow, mainly due to high upfront costs, limited range, and long charging times, rather than a lack of demand.
“Electrifying mopeds and motorcycles in Europe takes more than replicating the model used for cars. It needs a solution that is more affordable and more practical than petrol. That’s what Pollen offers,” says Bento.
Pollen uses a universal battery with electronic cell-switching technology, allowing a single battery pack to safely power vehicles from different manufacturers without sacrificing performance. Riders can swap a used battery for a fully charged one at a Pollen station in less than a minute, removing the need for queues, charging cables, and concerns about running out of power. The automated stations are open 24/7.
Most current swap networks, such as Taiwan’s Gogoro and Honda’s Mobile Power Pack system, are closed systems where batteries and vehicles are designed together. Pollen aims to make battery swapping possible across Europe by offering a single battery pack compatible with any make or model.
Pollen’s first three stations are now operating at Galp service stations in the Amoreiras, Alvalade, and Lumiar neighbourhoods of Lisbon. The company aims to build a subscription-based network that could support 100 million fossil-fuel-free rides and deliveries worldwide every day.
