Bicycles are a popular, convenient, and sustainable mode of transportation, but they are also vulnerable to theft and damage. With the increasing popularity of cycling as a mode of transportation, the demand for infrastructure and support for bike riders is on the rise. A solution was needed, and MIOO is the answer.

MIOO Cycling is an app and platform offering smooth bike ownership throughout the bike’s lifecycle. It has been developed by a start-up which is part of our community. The app allows cyclists to keep track of their bike’s service history, book repair and maintenance services, and register the bike in the antitheft and insurance programme.  Additionally, the app’s potential for environmental impact aligns with the growing trend of sustainable investing. By investing in these innovative platforms, investors can support a more sustainable and equitable transportation system. 

How does MIOO work?  

The Swedish bike repair app is making at-home bike services easier than ever. You simply book a time and location through the app and a MIOO Bike Buddy will come to service or repair your bike wherever you are. It provides a range of services, including maintenance, repair, and accessories, making it easy for riders to keep their bikes in top condition. The insurance component protects against theft and damage, giving riders peace of mind. In the event of theft, the app’s antitheft programme enables the tracking of stolen bicycles in real time, increasing the chances of recovery. With MIOO Cycling, cyclists can feel confident and secure, knowing that their bikes are protected and well-maintained.

The difference between MIOO and all the many other mobile bike repairs that exist is that MIOO is not a bike repair mechanic scheme – MIOO is possible thanks to bike buddies. A bike buddy is a private individual that is passionate about bikes and know how to fix and maintain a bike on a every day need basis. Could be your neighbor or someone working next door. 

What are the benefits of MIOO?

Firstly, the app’s maintenance services promote the longevity and efficiency of bicycles. Well-maintained bikes require less energy to operate, reducing the overall carbon footprint of cycling as a mode of transportation. 

Secondly, the app’s insurance coverage encourages the use of bicycles as a primary means of transportation. By offering protection against theft and damage, the app provides reassurance to bike riders who may otherwise be hesitant to rely on their bikes for everyday use. 

Finally, as more people use the app and platform, the demand for bike-friendly infrastructure may increase, leading to a more sustainable and equitable transportation system. 

EIT Urban Mobility believes MIOO Cycling has the potential to revolutionize the cycling industry, making it more accessible and convenient for all. We look forward to seeing how this start-up develops and the positive impact it has on the cycling community.

Do you want to know more about #MIOO Cycling’s mission and its solutions? 
Visit the company website and LinkedIn. 

This article is part of Why we invested? series presenting EIT Urban Mobility equity portfolio.

About the author

Catarina Andrez – Impact Officer at EIT Urban Mobility, passionate about impact investments and supporting early-stage start-ups in their path to contribute to a future sustainable urban mobility. Contact at: catarina.andrez@eiturbanmobility.eu

#ChallengeMyCity is a programme enabling European cities to tackle their most pressing urban challenges by testing market-ready innovative mobility solutions.   

#ChallengeMyCity´s objective is to test the best solutions through a six-month pilot and evaluates their social, economic, and environmental impact and estimate long-term integration into the city´s mobility strategy, to make mobility more sustainable and accessible for all.  

#ChallengeMyCity 2023  

This year’s edition of #ChallengeMyCity is dedicated to the cities of Braga (Portugal), Larissa (Greece), Heraklion (Greece), and Vitoria-Gasteiz (Spain) and divided into 3 cut-off dates (see below Call Summary table). Each city has identified a set of mobility challenges and is seeking solutions from businesses and entrepreneurs who can provide innovative proposals to tackle them.   

#ChallengeMyCity provides enterprises of all types and sizes with a market-ready solutions with the opportunity to grow their successful business ventures and scale up their products and services.   

Benefits for selected solutions   

• Up to €60 000 in funding to implement a six-month pilot in real conditions  
• Support to implementation by EIT Urban Mobility and city officers   
• Networking opportunities with public administration and other innovators   
• Promotion through the Mobility Innovation Marketplace by EIT Urban Mobility  

Brief description of the challenges: 

The Greek cities of Heraklion and Larissa are seeking solutions to the urban mobility challenges they face. The best solutions to three challenges per city will be awarded implementation of the pilots. Find below a brief description of each challenge: 

Heraklion (Greece)  

• Challenge: Creating micromobility hubs through secure bicycle parkings 

The city of Heraklion strives to implement safe and secured bicycle parking with the possibility of charging e-bikes, located in a strategic point where the users, after finishing their trips, can park their bike safely to walk or use the public transport. The ideal flexible modular solution could be spread around the city and accommodate (each one) a small number (10-30) of bikes and e-bikes for both spontaneous parking and charging during the day by the registered users of the scheme. 

• Challenge: Management and control of parking spaces for persons with reduced mobility (PRM) and logistics 

The desired solution should enable PRM residents and visitors, and truck drivers, to book a parking spot. It should also facilitate the movement of people with disabilities and encourage their integration and equal participation in the life of the city by informing them in real time about the next free parking spot. It should also facilitate the everyday work of the delivery companies and the shop owners, by avoiding illegal parking of trucks in random and not appropriate places for parking.  

• Challenge: Control of motorised vehicle access in the pedestrianised area of the city centre 

The city is looking for a technology solution through which it can control the city’s entry points and/or exit points of the central pedestrianised area. The solution implementing the Urban Vehicle Access Regulations (UVARs) should allow the city to grant the permissions to an authorized driver to enter the area during certain time slots. The control of the entry and exit points should not rely on the involvement of the police in the enforcement of the regulation. 

• Challenge: Electric-powered micro-vehicle for PRM passengers’ mobility in the pedestrianised city centre 

Heraklion is interested in piloting a new mobility option friendly both to people and the environment, operating in slow speed (up to 25 kilometres per hour) and allowing ride-hailing anywhere on the street. Smart or conventional telephone ordering should also be an option. This vehicle should be operated by a professional driver (city employee or employee of a private organisation, e.g. the Urban Public Transport Operator) and have capacity of 5 passengers without wheelchairs, or less passengers with wheelchairs. 

Larissa (Greece)  

• Challenge: Creating micromobility hubs through secure bicycle parkings 

The city of Heraklion strives to implement safe and secured bicycle parking with the possibility of charging e-bikes, located in a strategic point where the users, after finishing their trips, can park their bike safely to walk or use the public transport. Safe bike parking facilities will encourage more cyclists to use e-bikes, which is expected to increase the number of cyclists for long peri-urban distance trips and trips to uphill destinations. 

• Challenge:  Collection of environmental and traffic data 

The city of Larissa is looking into the use of smart devices to be installed close to schools and hospitals and also less sensitive locations to measure and compare the level of environmental pollution (air and noise) and traffic flows. The collection of relevant environmental and traffic data by smart devices will enable the city to take informed decisions and to re-shape urban mobility based on minimizing the harmful effects. 

• Challenge:  Management and control of parking spaces for PRM  

Unauthorized parking causes major accessibility issues for PRM. The desired solution should enable holders of blue cards (PRM residents in Larissa) and visitors with reduced mobility to book a parking spot. It should furthermore facilitate the movement of people with disabilities and encourages their integration and equal participation in the life of the city by informing them in real time about the next free parking spot. 

Find more detail about each challenge in Call Manual (link below).  

Requirements  

• All types of companies located in a Member State of the European Union or from Third Country associated to Horizon Europe that can present solutions to the challenges mentioned below are invited to participate.   
• The proposal shall be in line with the Vision and Mission of the EIT Urban Mobility Strategic Agenda.  
• The solutions/product should bring novelty and being results-focused.   

• The solution should propose a financial sustainability mechanism to the EIT UM.   
• The solution shall be at least TRL-7 and present a letter of recommendation from a previous pilot implementation.  

We look forward to receiving your applications!   

Contact details   

Online info session   

The information session is offered to provide in-depth details on the call’s aim and objectives, local challenges, and the general procedure. The session will also include a Q&A for participants to address any queries.  

If you are interested in learning more about #ChallengeMyCity Greece, be sure to connect on 19 April at 12:00h. Sign up HERE. 

Call summary  

This article is part of Why we invested? series presenting EIT Urban Mobility equity portfolio.

Nowadays, the online toolkit for active mobility enthusiasts is abundant and represented by multiple mobile apps having at the core couple of common features: (1) activity tracking; (2) data storage and personal analytics; (3) community building interface; and (4) interoperability with frequently used software. Some of them are aimed at sports fans betting on sophisticated functionalities while the others – to enlarge the total addressable market (TAM) – welcome any type of user. In the past years, in line with public debate on mobility challenges in rapidly growing urban and suburban areas, as well as with the burning issue of global warming, gamification apps for clean mobility gained attention. Since the idea of converting one´s sustainable and healthy choices into benefits is straightforward and building scalable business models in the niché is challenging, the competition is ultimately tough.

Even despite unfavourable winds, many decide to take their ideas and test them in real market conditions. The incentives come from public authorities, ranging from local to governmental bodies, keen on supporting businesses that are clearly citizen-oriented and for the public good. With academia broadly addressing the advantages of such subsidies on health, environment, or local economy, it seems to be a so-called safe bet for public money to be spent. If yes, why is private software subsidized by local authorities not omnipresent and fundamental to short-distance urban commuting? 

The answer is complex and subject to the respondent´s profile, however, the traction due date is clear in two points, namely: (i) increasing motivation threshold and (ii) lack of long-term profitability. The first point refers to decreasing motivation as the value of the reward received by the user is perceived over time as insufficient to maintain engagement. A straightforward solution to this problem is not feasible due to the second observation which is a high percentage of bankruptcies for companies losing access to public aid. Central programmes are usually, and due to various reasons, constrained in time, thus sooner or later every venture working with public bodies is about to face the realities of undistorted market competition.

This bumpy trail has been already half-completed by Walk15, one of the recent investees in EIT Urban Mobility´s equity portfolio. With an impact-driven investment thesis and appetite to be a non-local investor across Europe, entering into new geography intertwined with the unveiling of a vertical that was missing the due date. Why did EIT Urban Mobility decide to join the second part of the walk as an investor?  

To start with, the main reason lies in clear vision. The impact-driven mission of Walk15 is to assist people in the continuous process of shifting their daily habits towards healthier for themselves and sustainability from an environmental perspective. The company, through its step challenge solution, is working with businesses nudging them to have a closer look at the benefits coming from more motivated and cohesive and physically active employees.

The idea – resonating with the mission of EIT Urban Mobility – was framed in a defensible business model, proved at its early stage with market traction growth of 800% in two years. Walk15 paved the way to the successful closure of its first fundraising following the mechanism discussed above, i.e., gaining the attention and trust of public authorities. However, this was only the very first step in order to increase success odds, followed by swift introductions to investors and businesses in the region. To this date, over 1,000 B2B clients have used paid Walk15 services in Lithuania, Denmark, Latvia, Germany and other countries.

First pilots and commercial cooperations proved that the company is living up to its values on the field, contributing both to society and the environment. As one may believe, it is not only about the steps that have the power to substitute combustion engine vehicles and help to maintain physical shape. Here is also where the reward programme comes into the picture. Different to many similar initiatives where collected points can be traded for discounts for any type of product/service, only actual steps – not points – can be collected in the steps wallet of the app #walk15. Walk15 supports only local, sustainable, and planet-friendly options. In partnership with IKI (part of Rewe Group), a Lithuanian supermarket chain, the consumer could exchange their steps for a discount on fruits and vegetables. The first-of-its-kind deal with National Railways of Lithuania gave steps discounts on train tickets meaning economic reinforcement of multimodal journeys and integrated mobility schemes, being often declared as insufficiently addressed bottleneck by citizens. On the current lookout for fundraising for an expansion to Germany and having potential customers pipeline in Poland, yet much more potential could be unlocked with scale.

To sum up, a high-level strategy complemented by an actionable plan – two inseparable components all investors are keen to see – played strongly in favour of Walk15 when reaching out to EIT Urban Mobility.  The company´s name – mentioned in previous paragraphs – always refers to the team that is of utmost importance – especially at the early stages where all the efforts are accompanied by high uncertainty of the results. With the core team stemming from the world of professional sport, and later complemented by highly skilled IT and business profiles, it marks all the boxes of well-optimized human assets.

These are only brief highlights of introducing a Lithuanian company to our community. The investment decision process at EIT Urban Mobility is a multi-stage, structured work with further information and literature available at the dedicated website. To wrap up, and recap on the portfolio-building strategy, it relies on such pillars as supporting inclusive teams; playing the role of non-local investor in vulnerable entrepreneurial ecosystems; and promoting technological excellence with impact embedded at its core.

Do you want to know more about the Walk15 mission and its software? 
Visit the company website and LinkedIn.

About the author

Mateusz Kaluza – investments analyst at EIT Urban Mobility, passionate about data and active mobility. Scouting for impact-driven innovations enabling a shift towards citizen-oriented transportation systems. Contact at: mateusz.kaluza@eiturbanmobility.eu

Supporting literature and sources:

• https://about.walk15.app/naujienos/lithuanian-and-latvian-business-angels-have-invested-in-walking-start-up-walk15-whose-value-increased-5-times/
• https://ain.capital/2022/11/29/walk15-raises-400k/
• https://www.70v.com/post/lithuanian-walking-startup-walk15-attracts-almost-270-000-euros-in-investment
• https://about.walk15.app/naujienos/iki-and-walk15-challenges-to-convert-steps-into-discounts/

Translation: German / Spanish / Català / Slovak/ Hungarian

Twelve European cities from ten countries join the third edition of the competition Rapid Applications for Transport (RAPTOR) programme by EIT Urban Mobility, an initiative of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union. RAPTOR is an agile, challenge-based programme that swiftly creates and tests solutions to answer niche urban mobility challenges identified by the cities. The competition sees start-ups and SMEs propose promising innovative and impactful solutions to answer these challenges. Winners are awarded funding (35 000 euros) and customised mentoring to develop and pilot their solution across the five-month project period in the city.

Each of the cities identified a unique challenge they face, ranging from freight pollution, access to electric vehicle charging and cycling safety.  The participating cities for the 2023 edition are: Akureyri (Iceland), Ankara (Türkiye), Ajka (Hungary), Barcelona Metropolitan Area (Spain), Capital Region of Denmark (Denmark), Debrecen (Hungary), Dubnicka nad Váhom (Slovakia), The Hague (Netherlands), Helsingborg (Sweden), Mechelen (Belgium), Munich (Germany), Stuttgart Region (Germany).

Gareth Macnaughton, Director of Innovation, EIT Urban Mobility: “RAPTOR uses agile, innovative solutions to solve concrete urban mobility challenges in European cities. The programme promotes innovative European start-ups and SMEs to partner with Cities to find and test solutions to their challenges.  RAPTOR brings innovation to a local level freeing cities up from their dependence on big consulting or technology multinationals companies. EIT Urban Mobility welcomes these twelve new cities in their active role as driving force and enablers of faster mobility innovation.”

EIT Urban Mobility and cities are launching the open competition next week, for European start-ups and SMEs to propose solutions that address these challenges. The niche mobility challenges for each of these cities will be explained and detailed during the call information day happening on 15 March 2023, to support the SMEs and Start-ups in getting ready for the competition.

• Akureyri – How can intermodality between public transport and micro-mobility solutions be optimised? 

Iceland’s current government has committed to cut emissions by 55% by 2030 (according to ESR 2005 numbers) and to become carbon-neutral by 2040. Today, the transport sector is a significant source of emissions, in 2021, it accounted for 31% of all emissions. The town of Akureyri is by far the largest urban area outside the capital area with just under 20.000 residents (about 8% of the population). In Akureyri, public transport is available via a free-of-charge bus system. However, most residents prefer to travel by private car and average ownership is more than 8 private vehicles for every 10 residents. Apart from the free public transportation, the town launched an app and a website which show the time it takes to walk or cycle from one location to another. Although it clearly reveals that cycling across town only takes about 15 minutes, the introduction of these measures has not yet proven fruitful. 

• Ankara – How to increase efficiency in e-bike field operations?

In the city of Ankara, Türkiye, the existing electric bike sharing system includes more than 500 bikes, 40 charging stations, management, and end-user mobile applications. Bicycle charging stations are located at the metro exits. The implemented free-floating e-bike sharing scheme provides the availability of bikes at various stations within the system. Compared to the station-based scheme, it represents the more flexible model by enabling users to pick up and drop off e-bikes at any desired station with available bikes or parking spaces. However, the system lacks a decision-support feature, making it incapable of automatically optimising field operations. Field operations consist of collecting, balancing, replacing batteries, on-site maintenance, returning to workshop etc. and these are done by carrying vehicles. Since such operations create the highest costs to the budget the route optimisation of the vehicles is important and required for an efficient and smart management. Therefore, the goal is to establish an optimisation system for the e-bikes field operations through an integrated software that includes parameters derived from the existing system such as location, charge status, availability of e-bikes.

• Ajka – How can we optimize public transport routes using the possibility of a new bridge? 

The city in Hungary, historically 6 villages that were merged, is today a central hub for work, health, and educational services. Today, more than 14 000 citizens commute to Ajka city centre every day. Over the last 10 years the number of cars in the city has increased by 24%. For this reason, Ajka has decided to re-organize and optimise the public transportation system to address the local and regional mobility issues that arise from high congestion rates and insufficient public transportation routes. The study of the possibility of the construction of a new bridge in the city is at the heart of this challenge as it will restructure the public transportation network and improve mobility flows in the city.

• Barcelona Metropolitan Area – How might we leverage data collected in loading/unloading zones to improve city logistics policies in the metropolitan area?

AMB Barcelona is facing several challenges in getting the most value from the data collected by their own app (SPRO) to monitor loading/unloading zones. One of the major problems is the complexity and volume of the data collected. Another problem is the need to ensure the privacy and security of the data collected. This is particularly important when the data contains sensitive information such as personal information or business-critical data. Furthermore, AMB Barcelona needs to prioritise investments in the right technology and infrastructure to support the use of data collected through the app. This includes data storage and processing capabilities, as well as tools for data visualisation and analysis.

• Capital Region of Denmark – How can overpriced EV charging be avoided and price transparency be ensured for users? 

Denmark has a goal to electrify more than a million vehicles by 2030. For that, electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure and its accessibility and transparency is key for the EV driver to make the right decision. When using a private electric vehicle, charging can happen at home, at work or at public charging stations. The public and on-street charging infrastructure in Denmark is well developed and is frequently located throughout the Capital Region of Denmark in parking lots, along streets and at various other locations. The price of EV charging in the Capital Region of Denmark is regulated by charging operators themselves, rather than by the government. There are several different charging operators and providers in the Capital Region of Denmark and each has its own pricing policy. The consequence of this is that the price of charging an electric vehicle in the Capital Region of Denmark can vary a lot, depending on factors such as the time of day, the amount of energy used and the type of charging station, operator and roaming policies. There is currently no solution that provides a holistic, real-time overview of the price of charging of all different EV charging operators, and this often results in EV drivers paying too much.  

• Debrecen – How to connect citizens from low density areas to the public transport network through active mobility?

Debrecen, Hungary is quickly expanding which means even more pressure on urban travel and road congestion which makes everyone’s lives more difficult and frustrating. As excessive car usage and road congestion are key challenges for Debrecen, any useful and effective incentives are welcome, especially if they have worked well in other cities already. The city needs to support the citizens’ ability and options to use sustainable modes of travel instead of car rides. For these efforts relatively low cost and smart solutions come very useful.

• Dubnica nad Váhom – How to create safe bicycle parking possibilities for people from the housing estate? 

Dubnica nad Váhom is a city in central part of Slovakia, with a population of around 25 000 inhabitants. It is an industrial city. Conditions of the city are rather favourable for higher rate of active mobility and the city is currently building its first bicycle infrastructure while working on a more strategic and long-term approach to increase the bicycle modal share. Therefore, the challenge is to provide a safe and accessible bicycle parking infrastructure for people living in the wider city centre.

• The Hague – How do we improve the in-city customer journey to the main Scheveningen recreational area by modes of sustainable transport on peak days?

Scheveningen beach in the Netherlands is a highly popular recreational area, especially on nice weather and event days. On these peak days, large amounts of visitors can be a challenge (think of crowded public transportation and long traffic jams). On peak days, it is noticeable that most out-of-city visitors skip sustainable modes of transportation and last-mile solutions. The beach area has many different sustainable models of transport, like cycling highways, free bike parking, but it can also accommodate car drivers by having garages close to popular spots.

• Helsingborg – How can the city of Helsingborg establish a bicycle culture?

Despite substantial investments in infrastructure, the climate crisis and high fuel costs, the people of Helsingborg in Sweden are travelling by bicycle to a lesser extent than people in same-sized cities. The focus of this challenge is to understand the behaviours of citizens and be able to develop a “bicycle culture” in Helsingborg, including ways to define and measure it. 

• Mechelen – How to measure the CO2 emissions and its possible reduction for freight transport?  

The city of Mechelen in Belgium has signed a covenant with 33 logistics service providers and interest organisations to realise zero emission city logistics by 2030. Yet currently there is no collection or analysis on data levels of the goal of zero emission city logistics, so the transition isn’t being monitored. Therefore, the city is looking for a solution to be able to start with this monitoring, define a baseline and follow the evolution in CO2 emissions. 

• Munich – How can individual mobility patterns in a city like Munich be identified based on a data model?

The city of Munich with 1,5 million inhabitants is facing environmental and traffic challenges due to growing numbers of inhabitants and of private vehicles causing an increase in CO2 emissions. Approximately 400.000 commuters from surrounding areas come to Munich daily. The only data available that is collected from devices installed in public transport is the count of passengers getting on and off the subway/bus/tramway at the stations. There is no evaluation of other means of transport. Only 15-60% of all public transport vehicles are equipped with counting devices. Mobile providers can show streams of movement almost in real-time, but do not record short distances (under 1 km) and are not able to differentiate the means of transport. Whereas app-based solutions very often have the problem that there are not enough users and in addition to that, those users are not representative of the residential population and the tourists.

• Stuttgart Region – How can we change the arrival and departure culture to big events, what can be done to diversify transportation options, and relieve congestion on such events?  The Stuttgart Region with its 179 municipalities is an innovative business location and one of Germany’s top-ranking locations for labour, competitiveness, dynamism and quality of life. Stuttgart Region hosts many events throughout the year. Large events can have a significant environmental impact, especially if transportation options are not sustainable. By diversifying transportation options and promoting sustainable modes of transportation, we can reduce the environmental impact of large events. 

The third Call for Proposals for the HEI Initiative (Innovation Capacity Building for Higher Education) will remain open until 28 February.

This call aims to increase the innovation and entrepreneurial capacity in higher education by bringing together HEIs in innovation value chains and ecosystems across Europe.

The call will select up to 16 consortia, who will receive a maximum of EUR 750 000 with up to EUR 350 000 for Phase 1 (May−December 2023) and up to EUR 400 000 for Phase 2 (January−July 2024). This call for proposals is open to all types of stakeholders. For the first time, the call is open to both new organisations and existing partners from the Pilot Call and the second call for proposals.

The selected consortia should show how they will build innovation capacity through the integration of deep tech talent-fostering activities. They must also demonstrate how their applications align with the Deep Tech Talent Initiative and contribute to deep tech innovation.

The goal of the Deep Tech Talent Initiative is to develop and offer pan-European talent and skills development programmes to skill, re-skill and up-skill at least 1 million talents in the coming next three years (2023-2025). In this way, the Europe’s labour force is expected to be expanded in high growth companies working in deep tech fields, encompassing advanced materials and manufacturing, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, blockchain, robotics, aerospace, photonics, electronics, quantum computing, sustainable energy and cleantech. The Deep Tech Talent initiative is led by EIT under the new European Innovation Agenda adopted by the European Commission in 2022.

Consortia must submit their applications until 28 February 2023, by 17:00 CET. The selected projects will be announced in May 2023.

Networking and Matchmaking platform

For organisations that would like to apply to the initiative but are missing participants for creating a full cohort, the initiative has a Conversation Starter platform available exclusively for this Call 3. Register in the platform to meet and match with other organisations whose HEI proposal concepts are aligned.

 Registration link.

Further details and supporting documents

The HEI initiative is an activity part of the cross-KIC portfolio. The KICs participating in the HEI initiative are: EIT RawMaterials, EIT Health, EIT Urban Mobility, EIT Manufacturing, EIT Digital, EIT Food and EIT Climate-KIC.

• For further details about the HEI Initiative 3 Call: HEI Initiative website
• For general questions about the call, contact hei@eitrawmaterials.eu. EIT HEI Call 3 text
• Frequently Asked Questions
• EIT HEI Initiative List of KIC partners

Transport and mobility services are an important part of the EU economy, accounting for at least 5% of total value added and employing approximately 10.5 million people[1].  As transport transitions to climate neutrality, it will continue to be the base of Europe’s economy. EIT Urban Mobility, an initiative of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union, invested in more than 60 start-ups in 2022 alone. By funding solutions with a variety in mobility subsectors, European regions, and team diversity, EIT Urban Mobility accelerates the innovation needed to reach climate neutrality.

As a result, passenger mobility is undergoing major changes and shifts to new paradigms and there is growing concern about the long-term sustainability of major transportation systems, particularly those in cities. Ride hailing (23%), and ridesharing (12%)¹ are the most used new mobility services in Europe in 2022, while the electric vehicle market still a much smaller sector, is exploding. The Electric Vehicles market in Europe is projected to grow by 17.05% (2023-2027) resulting in a market volume of US$332.80bn in 2027.

Fredrik Hånell, Impact Ventures Director: “Europe leads not only in green and green-digital innovation, but also in innovation overall. To keep this up, EIT Urban Mobility boosted its investments to fund these 60 early-stage start-ups, which not only create a possible financial return but allows for us to also push for a strong focus on team and regional diversity, and environmental and social impact. European start-ups need to consider diversity and impact, to keep ahead of the curve, and defend our worldwide advantage.”

A closer look at 5 start-ups that are making an impact across Europe in electrical mobility: 

Elonroad (Sweden)

• Elonroad’s disruptive technology is the first electric road with a ground level feeding system tested in an urban environment with a city bus and other vehicles in the city of Lund. Their solution is enabling the reduction of the vehicles batteries size, making electric vehicles more sustainable and accessible and creating the most significant impact in the direct reduction of GHG emissions. 

Circu Li-Ion (Luxembourg)

• By 2030, the EU will become second in demand for batteries worldwide yet increasing the number of new batteries isn’t a sustainable option. Circu-lion is upcycling batteries for the mobility sector and maximizing the value of each lion cell and consequently reducing the need for new batteries production. Not only does their solution have a positive environmental footprint, but they are also creating a significant impact on the circular economy in the battery industry. 

Waybler (Sweden)

• Waybler is accelerating the Electric Vehicle adoption and its infrastructure. By having an intelligent load balancing and phase distribution technology, they are directly creating a positive impact in energy savings and efficiency. 

Chainge (Denmark)

• Chainge is replacing diesel vans with electric cargo bikes in last mile logistics. Due to the decrease on the number of vehicles around the city (no road congestion) and consequently massive reduction of hazardous emissions produced and air pollution, their product has a positive environmental impact. 

Inbalance Grid (Lithuania)

• Inbalance grid is focusing on electric vehicle charging with the goal of making charging available everywhere. Their cloud balancing solution improves energy efficiency as well as reduces environmental impact of cities in terms of air quality by indirectly contributing to the reduction of GHG emissions. At the same time, their solution promotes the adoption of clean technologies and reduces the material consumption/waste due to extending the grids’ lifetime.

More information about these start-ups, and our other  33 start-ups working on electrical vehicles, and the complete EIT Urban Mobility portfolio can be found: Portfolio – EIT Urban mobility 

In 2022, a staggering 87% of all VC funding in Europe continues to be raised by male-only founding teams, while the proportion of funding raised by women-only teams has dropped to 1%, according to the State of European Tech. Within EIT Urban Mobility’s portfolio, 40% of the total funding is assigned to female-led and co-led start-ups.   

More information 

By focusing on investing in all European regions, EIT Urban Mobility supports innovation to improve urban mobility and the creation of livable cities for all European citizens. Examples of these new geographical investments are Estonia (Lightcode and Fyma), Hungary (M3ter and FolderGo) and Lithuania (Walk15 and Inbalance Gri). In 2022, EIT Urban Mobility also diversified its portfolio with investments in new verticals, e.g. ConTech (Propergate), InsurTech (GoCleer), Hydrogen (Digas) and Water Mobility (Hyke and Zeabuz).  Mioo Cycling solution enables easy access to bicycle repair and maintenance, which creates a positive impact on people’s health and safety. By encouraging active mobility, they are also contributing to a positive environmental impact.  EIT Urban Mobility keeps looking for the most prominent entrepreneurs to disrupt the European mobility industry. The next open call for investments will open in March. Sign up to receive a notification when the call opens.

[1] 2022 New Mobility Patterns in European Cities Task A Final report.pdf (europa.eu)

• The EIT Urban Mobility initiative, “Challenge My City”, is to facilitate multimodal urban connectivity, sustainable logistics and cycling and pedestrian safety in Madrid between different sustainable modes of transport.
• This initiative has attracted an investment of €250,000 in Madrid from EIT Urban Mobility for entrepreneurs from seven pilot projects to implement their solutions for 6 months.
• Today’s inauguration of the pilot projects was presented by Borja Carabante, Delegate for the Environment and Mobility of Madrid, Lola Ortiz, Director General of Mobility Planning and Infrastructures of the Madrid City Council, and Lluis Puerto, EIT Urban Mobility Market Development Director. 

[En español]

Madrid, 16 January 2023. Today, EIT Urban Mobility, an initiative of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union, and the Madrid City Council, have presented the #ChallengeMyCity programme. At this event, seven innovative urban mobility solutions of the five start-ups have been inaugurated. The main objective of these innovative mobility pilots is to provide Madrid City Council with new ways to facilitate sustainable door-to-door travel through the promotion of intermodality.

During Monday’s presentation, representatives of both organisations visited the first solar-powered charging station for electric scooters and bicycles that facilitates multimodal urban connectivity through sustainable means of transport, implemented by the Sevillian start-up Solum at Chamartín Station.

“At EIT Urban Mobility we are truly committed to cities, and we understand that technology is essential to achieve sustainable urban mobility that benefits everyone. Therefore, we must move towards collaboration between city councils, citizens, and companies if we want to achieve this“, says Lluís Puerto, Director of Market Development at EIT Urban Mobility.

Sustainable mobility, the great challenge for cities

Madrid City Council and EIT Urban Mobility have cooperated over the last year through the #ChallengeMyCity programme to deploy up to seven pilots of innovative urban mobility solutions provided by different start-ups and organisations in different parts of the city. Concretely, EIT Urban Mobility experts have worked with technicians from the mobility planning area of the Madrid City Council to determine the mobility challenges facing the city, aligning with the mobility policies approved in the Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (PMUS) and the investments made or planned by the City Council. This initiative has attracted an investment of €250,000 in Madrid, by EIT Urban Mobility.

Five start-ups – Vadebike, Solum, SmartPoint, Dashfactor and Vianova – three of them Spanish, and a total of seven projects, have been selected through an open competition at European level whose objective is to implement these services in open mobility environments over the next six months. These projects will collect anonymised data on their use and will analyse the environmental, economic, and social benefits they can bring to each city. The projects are:

• Vadebike: has installed a secure bicycle parking area in Plaza de Castilla, next to the metro. In this way, it facilitates intermodality between sustainable means of transport such as bicycles and public transport, thus resolving one of the factors that most concerns users, namely the security of their bicycle against theft. The fully digitised car park allows users to safely store both their bicycle and their helmet during the day, encouraging the use of micro-mobility in combination with other sustainable modes of transport at the Plaza Castilla Interchange.
• SmartPoint: has 10 e-commerce parcel collection points, digitally connecting the delivery logistics chain with end customers, who travel to pick up their products at SmartPoint’s ticket offices. In this way, door-to-door delivery and the associated polluting emissions are avoided.
• Dashfactory: will install 125 smart cameras on bicycles, equipped with sensors to detect risk situations for cyclists, black spots and bike lanes with more intensive use. All the information generated on a daily basis will be available to the City Council for the detection of points where to reinforce safety or prioritise the construction of cycle lanes. The data generated through this pilot will allow the city to improve road conditions for Madrid’s cyclists and encourage cycling.
• Vianova: has a digital dashboard through which municipal technicians can visualise anonymised data on the use of shared mobility vehicles, to which a module for analysing pedestrian use of public space has been added, so that pedestrian areas can be improved and conflicts with micro-mobility users can be avoided. This pilot, which has been launched around the new pedestrian area of Puerta del Sol, will allow the City Council to understand the behavioural patterns of pedestrians and micro-mobility users, and thus create and improve new pedestrian areas in Madrid.
• Solum: has implemented a station with a universal charging system for electric scooters and bicycles, which also provides safe parking for users. The station has a solar floor that provides energy, making it a completely autonomous and sustainable installation. It has been installed at Chamartín Station as part of the project to convert the station into a multi-service hub to facilitate intermodal travel by sustainable means of transport.
• Car park for shared scooters: also part of the Chamartín multiservice project, a new car park has been created for shared electric scooters. This space has been created through the conversion of a car park for private motor vehicles, and favours multimodality between micro-mobility and public transport.
• Parking point for electric vehicles: located in the Chamartín multi-service hub, it favours the use of rideshare services and electric vehicles to reach the station, thus promoting sustainable mobility in combination with public transport.

In 2023, four new cities will join the programme. Vitoria-Gasteiz (Spain), Braga (Portugal), Larisa (Greece) and Heraklion (Greece) will work with EIT Urban Mobility over the course of a year to implement innovative solutions adapted to their mobility challenges.

The #ChallengeMyCity programme – 2022 edition has implemented 9 innovative solutions from 7 start-ups in 3 European cities: Milan, Toulouse, and Madrid.

Madrid, Monday, January 16, 2023. EIT Urban Mobility invites you through the Madrid City Council and EIT Urban Mobility, an initiative of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union, to the presentation of #ChallengeMyCity Madrid.

The objective of the initiative is to facilitate multimodal urban connectivity between different means of sustainable transport and for this purpose seven pilot projects have been selected. EIT Urban Mobility will test for six months to analyze the environmental, economic and social impact of the solutions.

• Solum: charging station using solar energy for electric scooters and bicycles.
• Vadebike: safe and digitized parking for bicycles.
• Dashfactory: detection system for cyclist road safety black spots.
• SmartPoint: digitized e-commerce parcel collection points.
• Vianova: monitoring system for coexistence between pedestrians and micromobility.
• Parking for shared scooters: new parking for shared electric scooters.
• Parking point for electric vehicles: favors the use of rideshare services and electric vehicles.

The 2022 edition of #ChallengeMyCity has facilitated the implementation of 9 innovative solutions from 7 start-ups in 3 European cities: Milan, Toulouse and Madrid.

Below, you can find the details of the launch event:

• DATE AND TIME: Monday, January 16, 09:30-11:00
• PLACE: Hotel Chamartín The One (C/Agustin de Foxa, s/n. 28036. Madrid.)
• To confirm attendance or with any questions, you can write to media@eiturbanmobility.eu

EIT Urban Mobility just opened an ongoing investment call for early-to-seed stage ventures. Selected scale-ups and start-ups can receive up to €500,000 capital. More importantly, the offer goes beyond funding. Ventures will benefit from fast-track introductions into the urban mobility community via the extensive regional and pan-European network, including cities, mentors, and industry leaders. This allows start-ups to validate their solutions, network with key decision-makers and scale their company with increased visibility.

The current portfolio contains companies developing technologies and solutions which are shaping the future of the urban mobility landscape. While financial return is essential, as an impact investor EIT Urban Mobility selects ventures where social and environmental impact grows with revenue. Start-ups in EIT Urban Mobility’s equity portfolio contribute positively to at least one of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to sustainable cities and communities, clean energy, and climate action. Based on the call for actions related to these goals, EIT Urban Mobility is linking key performance indicators to the expected impact of the start-ups to indicate their contribution to improved sustainable and liveable cities.

In addition, EIT Urban Mobility focuses on inclusive and gender-balanced teams when selecting start-ups. Research indicates that new businesses led by women are more likely to succeed and more likely to exceed expectations for growth. Since EIT Urban Mobility made inclusive and gender-balanced teams a key priority in 2020, internal reports show that the number of female-led ventures in the EIT Urban Mobility portfolio has grown from 16% to 27%, and the share of gender-balanced start-up investments has risen from 28% to 52%.  

Finally, to stimulate the talent and entrepreneurial mindset in all of Europe, EIT Urban Mobility pays special attention to start-ups incorporated in the Regional Innovation Scheme (RIS), where conservative and risk-avoiding policymaking can slow down change and innovation. 

For more information about the investment call: EIT Urban Mobility Startup Investments – EIT Urban mobility 

During the Velo-city conference 2022, that took place from the 14 until the 17 June, Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia, was fully garnished with butterflies. Those represented the visual identity of the annual flagship event organised by our partner, the European Cyclist’s Federation, and that symbolises change, development and metamorphosis. Indeed, the Slovenian capital made a drastic shift in the last 10 years regarding cycling.

EIT Urban Mobility was fully present in Velo-city with a booth, that attracted those interested in our programmes and that could learn more about our mission, specially regarding Active Mobility.

During the 3 days event, different conferences brought together those involved in the policy, promotion and the provision of cycling facilities and programmes. Edwin Heesakkers, EIT Urban Mobility Innovation Hub West director, took part of the Focus on citizens, stakeholders and community plenary session on Wednesday. Heesakkers highlighted the importance to engage with youth, women and marginalised groups.

“We’re breaking the silos to make the changes together. Why? Because cities are for you, for us, for the people who live in them. And it is of utmost importance that each of you can have your say in designing the city you will live in” Edwin Heesakkers, EIT UM Innovation Hub West director

On Thursday, Anja Ilenič, EIT Urban Mobility RIS Hub Slovenia representative, took part of the Engaging citizens and building the cycling community session. Ilenič introduced EIT Urban Mobility, some of the RIS Hub Slovenia initiatives, and same as Heessakkers, also stressed the importance of involving the youth in the decision making process. The same morning, EIT Urban Mobility Innovation Lifecycle officer, Manuel Crespo Yáñez, attended the conference The latest innovations from bike-sharing and micromobility, where he presented one of our projects that was also present at Velo-city, Bicification.

“The future of urban mobility is active mobility” Manuel Crespo Yáñez, EIT UM Innovation Lifecycle officer

In order to preach by example, the EIT Urban Mobility team present in Ljubljana took part in the traditional Velo-city Bike Parade, together with hundreds of other enthusiastic bike lovers.

Indeed, the conferences are designed to encourage cycling as part of daily transport and recreation. Velo-city began in 1980 in Bremen (Germany) with deep ties in the founding of the European Cyclists’ Federation. The next world cycling summit will take place in May 2023 in Liepzig. More info here

Co-Funded by EIT Urban Mobility and led by CARNET, the LogiSmile project aims to respond to the major challenge of last-mile urban distribution in increasingly congested cities. 

The metropolitan area of Barcelona and Esplugues de Llobregat hosted a test in a real urban environment of the autonomous goods distribution robot Ona last Friday, 10 June. Developed by CARNET and the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, BarcelonaTech (UPC), in the framework of the European project LogiSmile, the test was carried out in the Can Vidalet neighbourhood. Later, the Ona robot will travel to Hamburg (Germany) and Debrecen (Hungary).

The event was attended by the Minister for Transport, Mobility and the Urban Agenda, Raquel Sánchez; the Mayoress of Esplugues de Llobregat, Pilar Díaz; the rector of the UPC, Daniel Crespo; the executive and scientific head of CARNET, Laia Pagès; and the director of EIT Urban Mobility Innovation Hub South Daniel Serra, as well as different partners of the project.

For the Minister of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda, Raquel Sánchez, “this is not science fiction today; it is what we will experience in our cities in the coming years.” The minister highlighted the importance for Esplugues of hosting this pilot project, the result of collaboration between public administrations, universities and companies, and a fundamental axis for achieving safe, digitalised mobility that respects the planet and people’s health. The autonomous vehicle is included in the objective of digitalisation and decarbonisation pursued by the Ministry. This process entails challenges already contemplated in the Sustainable Mobility Law, which will soon reach the Spanish congress.

“The future is here”, said the mayoress of Esplugues de Llobregat, Pilar Díaz, who highlighted that Ona “is an example of putting technology at the service of problem-solving, in this case for the distribution of last-mile goods”, while highlighting the “ecological and sustainable” aspect of the initiative.

This pilot demonstrates that future mobility in our cities is already a reality. The commitment of the Spanish government, the town of Esplugues de Llobregat and the Metropolitan area of Barcelona also proves that when the right actors work together, we can design the future of our cities. 

As facilitators of the project and founders of the largest European community transforming mobility, we are excited and honoured to see how the future is happening now. With our headquarters in Barcelona, EIT Urban Mobility emerges as the instrument of the European Union that enables the collaboration between the agents necessary to carry out this type of initiatives. In our common challenge for the decarbonisation of cities, the collaboration between public and private agents, companies, research centres and universities is essential for making the future a reality.

LogiSmile is a project led by CARNET and co-funded by EIT Urban Mobility. It is developed in collaboration with Àrea Metropolitana de Barcelona (AMB), Capgemini Engineering, DKV Debrecen Exclusive Transport Company Ltd. , Ajuntament d’Esplugues de Llobregat, ITS Hamburg 2021 GmbH, LMAD, NFF – Niedersächsisches Forschungszentrum Fahrzeugtechnik, OtoStolik, PTV Group, Dirección General de Tráfico, IRI – Institut de Robòtica i Informàtica Industrial, CSIC-UPC, and CDEI-UPC.

How do we design our urban spaces to be and feel safer? It’s not as simple as installing cameras everywhere to watch over everyone. In this episode, our wonderful host Brittany Atkins chats with expert guests Marianne Weinreich, Debbie Dekkers, and Dan Campsall about how the presence (or absence) of safety in mobility and urban planning can be affected by gender, age, lifestyle, and more.

Marianne Weinreich is a Market Manager of Smart Mobility at Ramboll, a Danish (but international) engineering and design consultancy that aims to create sustainable solutions across transport. She has spent the last 20+ years working in mobility as a consultant and manager, and is also the co-founder and chairman of the Cycling Embassy.

Debbie Dekkers is a Programme Manager and “innovatiemanager” at the Innovation Office for the city of Amsterdam. The organisation aims to make the city more efficient and evolved for the benefit of its residents, using the power of technology to prepare for future mobility. As a programme manager, Debbie works mainly within smart mobility with a focus on MaaS, trends analysis, and anticipating new mobility concepts.

Dan Campsall is the Chairman of Agilysis, a transport behaviour and safety consultancy, with the goal to transform lives through healthier and safer communities via intelligent solutions. He also is the Vice-Chair of the Parliamentary Advisory Council for transport safety in the UK, and has been involved in the transport safety sector of mobility for about 20 years.

This episode delves into the complex subject that is safety in urban design and urban mobility, and examines it from a variety of different angles and perspectives.

A main theme our guest spoke on was how safety and the perception of safety in urban mobility can vary based on a number of demographics – Marianne spoke about how automotive safety features are structured to accommodate the average man, leaving women out of the safety equation. Debbie notes how not all urban infrastructure bears in mind the elderly or the disabled, who might need longer time and digital assistance at crosswalks and complex road crossings. Dan also commented how minorities and those living in deprived communities can be at greater risk of road injury, as well as facing lower quality infrastructure. However, they all note that there is still a sense of excitement and ambition as newer, smarter technology and strategy come to light as  solutions to these existing issues.

This is just the surface, and there are so many more levels of discussion and conversation on this episode – that we are proud to sponsor. You can hear the full discussion on Apple Podcasts, as well as anywhere else you find your podcasts.