Circular Bikes

Every year, thousands of stolen and abandoned bicycles end up in municipal storage, unclaimed and unusable. This is costly, inefficient and completely avoidable.

The Bikekey project set out to change that. Originally built for insurance companies, the project created a digital bike registry that verifies ownership, deters theft and enables high recovery rates. But an unexpected outcome emerged: municipalities started finding and returning bikes through the platform – without needing extra manpower or IT integration.

That insight became the seed for something bigger.

Thus, the platform’s functionality was expanded to serve cities and municipalities directly. The aim was to help local authorities reduce the burden of abandoned bikes, simplify recovery and enable a circular system for bike reuse. Citizens register their bikes using a QR-tag and MitID (digital ID). If a bike is found – by a passerby, police or a city worker – scanning the tag links it back to the owner instantly. If no owner is found, the municipality canreturn or repurpose the bike legally.

The project took place in Denmark in 2023–2024 with partners including the insurance companies First forsikring, Vejle Brand forsikring, Runa Forsikring, Bauta Forsikring, Lærestandens Brandforsikring and Gjensidige Forsikring. As a proof point, the system was  launched system nationally in Norway in 2025 through collaboration with the Norwegian Automobile Federation. The solution is simple to implement (no IT integration needed), fully compliant with General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and already delivering results: up to 45% fewer theft claims, 16% recovery rate of stolen bikes and a reduced municipal workload. Cities gain a tool for citizen service, sustainability and cost reduction, with no added complexity.