A sustainable transport innovator has teamed up with a leading university to take plans for a unique electric bike a step closer to fruition.
Frisco e-Bikes and Solar Docks has joined forces with the University of Aberdeen to undertake a mini project part-funded by Energy Technology Partnership which will refine the design of the system ahead of a planned rollout of potentially over 15,000 e-bikes by 2027.
The ETP is a research pool comprising 14 higher education settings in Scotland, including the University of Aberdeen, which provides world-class capability and resources in energy RD&D and which is supported and co-funded by the Scottish Funding Council. Its vision is to build on existing areas of excellence and collaboration to maintain Scotland’s position at the forefront of global energy research and innovation.
Frisco e-Bikes™ have been created by cycling enthusiast and businessman Ken Hoskins and his wife Janet. The bikes work in tandem with Frisco Solar Docks™ which are believed to be unique thanks to their green power source and lack of requirement to be connected to the electricity grid allowing them to be positioned in any location with minimal infrastructure and management.
Charities, including those which support people affected by issues of homelessness and transport poverty will benefit from the system due to donations forthcoming from hire revenue.
Ken Hoskins of Frisco e-Bikes and Solar Docks said: “The funding from the Energy Technology Partnership (ETP) and working with the Academic Team at the University of Aberdeen has been vital in progressing key elements of the design, manufacture, assembly and testing of the prototype Frisco e-BikesTM and the Frisco Solar DocksTM.”
Dr Sumeet Aphale from the University of Aberdeen’s School of Engineering has led on the design of key components of the prototype, along with colleagues Dr Amer Syed and Dr Jamshidi Far. Dr Aphale said: “This is an exciting project initiated by Frisco Projects and supported in this design phase by ETP Scotland. The University is leading the mechanical and electrical design of key components that will lead to the construction of the Frisco eBike prototype, the concept of which is very much in line with local and global ambitions around net zero, green transportation and sustainability. Wider adoption of this eBike concept has the potential to declutter our roads, improve individual transportation and has the added benefit of getting us fitter!”
ETP project manager Brian Cross added: “AT ETP we are always looking for Scottish SMEs that have the vision and passion to take their low carbon product ideas forward and who could do with some additional expertise to help them get there. We found this with Frisco e-Bikes and Solar Docks and we were happy to support their development work with the research team at the University of Aberdeen. The project has been a great success proving, once again, that knowledge exchange between SME and University partners can be a vital part of the product development cycle.”
To find out more, visit www.frisco-e-bikes-frisco-solar-docks.com.