Nüwiel, manufacturer an electric assisted operated cargo trailer for last mile logistics was announced as the winner of the Smart Pedal Pitch during Velo-city 2019, the global conference for cycling. Nüwiel and the runners-up in the competition will pilot their solutions with Dublin City Council’s Smart City and Transport teams over the coming months. For Nüwiel this is a further opportunity to build on existing relationships with leading brands such as IKEA and UPS.
However the competition itself was also judged as a winner for cycling by the partners promoting the competition. Smart Pedal Pitch, which was hosted by Dublin City Council in conjunction with Cycling Industries Europe, the Bicycle ITS Project and European Cyclists’ Federation, was a search for the most innovative cycle tech solutions coinciding with Velo-city 2019, the international cycling conference taking place in Dublin from June 25th-28th. The Bicycle ITS Project (BITS) made its international launch across the range of ITS and innovation events on 25th June at Velo-city, including an international tech audience at the headquarters of Google Europe in the heart of Dublin’s “Smart Docklands” district. Read more on the site visit to Google EMEA Headquarters here.
Kevin Mayne, CEO of Cycling Industries Europe and partner in the BITS project said “Cycling is the winner here. We saw the innovation potential of over 40 companies. We gave 10 exciting businesses a global audience at Google’s headquarters and in front of key influencers in cycling policy. Cycling is both a simple, accessible means of transport and a future technology that can integrate into the cutting edge of smart mobility. The winners deserve the spotlight, but we at CIE want to support the energy of all the applicants and give them more stages to present what future cycling has to offer. In particular the BITS Project presents an opportunity to share best practices across six countries in the near future.”
Jamie Cudden, Smart Cities Lead in Dublin City Council was delighted with the inaugural Smart Pedal Pitch which his team developed from an idea in partnership with Velo-City and the European Cyclists' Federation to celebrate the latest thinking in emerging cycle innovations.
“This was a fantastic collaboration with the European Cyclists Federation, Cycling Industries Europe, and Smart Dublin. We wanted to use Velo-City as a showcase for the latest global innovations in smart cycle tech and fortunately for us, the response was amazing. The international panel of judges was really impressed with the quality of the proposals and see a very promising future for many of the companies represented. We are delighted to have an opportunity to work with the three winning solutions and pilot their solutions here in Dublin.”
Out of over 40 entries, the ten shortlisted companies had the opportunity to pitch their ideas to a global cycling audience as well as an international panel of judges from the cycling and tech world, including Ryan Rzepecki, the founder of CIE member Jump Bikes. After judging and an audience vote, finalists were narrowed down to three and Nüwiel were announced as winners, along with first runner-up Umotional (Cyclers app) and second runner-up CYCL (WingLights).
To win the Smart Pedal Pitch, each proposal had to address one of the following four areas; seeking better data, promoting safer cycling, cycle security, and intelligent transport systems on cycling.
Head of business development at Nüwiel, Kajetan Berning stated, “We are thrilled with our win and the chance to collaborate with Smart Dublin by piloting our electric cargo trailers across the city to make urban transportation and logistics more efficient and Dublin more sustainable and livable for everyone.”
Umotional (Cyclers app), the first runner-up and CYCL (WingLights), the second runner-up also demonstrated impressive solutions. Cyclers are the number one cycling app in Prague with over 50,000 users, leveraging AI to deliver better cycling experiences and engagement across the local cycling community. WingLights is an indicator light solution which has now sold over 80,000 units is helping to deliver safer cycling in cities.
The BITS project is supported by the Interreg North Sea Region Programme of the European Regional Development Fund of the European Union.
