Urban delivery generates 25% of transport emissions in cities, with diesel vans dominating last-mile logistics. Cargo bikes offer a cleaner, faster alternative but represent less than 1% of urban deliveries today. Three barriers prevent scaling: planning tools designed for vans not cargo bikes, small operators that do not have business intelligence to grow, and large companies that lack tools to model fleet transitions confidently.
CARGOBIKE-SCALE is a €1.7 million consortium funded by EIT Urban Mobility to bridge research and practice. Led by Kale AI, the project unites three pioneering cargo bike operators – Urbike (Brussels), Cargonautes (Paris) and Bikelogic (Sant Cugat) – with researchers from IT University of Copenhagen and the University of Westminster.
The project develops three interconnected technology solutions:
Researchers provide the mathematical foundations and policy frameworks, connecting real-world operational challenges with cutting-edge AI and optimisation research. This creates reliable evidence for cities and policymakers to accelerate cargo bike adoption.
Four pilot cities demonstrate these solutions: Brussels, Paris, London and Sant Cugat. Running from February 2026 through to January 2028, pilot studies test innovations across diverse urban contexts, from dense historic centres to sprawling metropolitan areas.
The project commercialises AI infrastructure enabling systematic cargo bike scaling across Europe. By empowering SME operators and guiding enterprise fleet transitions, CARGOBIKE-SCALE transforms urban logistics from fossil fuel dependency to coordinated zero-emission networks, establishing the technological foundation for sustainable and efficient urban freight systems.
Project start:
Project end:
Budget:
Countries
Urban freight generates 35% of city emissions. Cargo bikes offer 95% energy savings yet represent <1% of deliveries due to inadequate coordination technology.
CARGOBIKE-SCALE bridges optimisation research with practical deployment through AI coordination platforms, SME business intelligence and enterprise simulation tools across four European pilot cities.
Commercial deployment will enable SME operators to scale up and undertake fleet transitions, achieving 15-30% efficiency gains and accelerating European urban logistics decarbonisation.
