Land transport contributes significantly to the emissions of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides as well as to the concentration and deposit of air pollutants. Urban mobility has a substantial impact on the air quality of urban areas with high population density and, together with traffic congestion, parking and noise pollution issues, has a relevant effect on the quality of life
Pollution and energy problems led to the development and increasing popularity of electric vehicles, mainly hybrid electric cars and, less common, fully electric cars (2.2% of total circulating in EU). The main problems that limit their mass diffusion to date are: limited autonomy of fully electric vehicles; vehicles high cost; expensive infrastructure at moment limited recharging points and long charging times; need for parking with charging stations and consequent footprint in the cities.
These types of vehicles do not solve, if not partially, a whole series of problems. 50 to 60 % of today's total passenger miles travelled in the world is due to car travel less than 8 km. In this framework, microvehicles and micromobility seem to be a possible alternative to classical urban mobility
Stakeholders have invested more than $5.7 B. in micromobility start-up since 2015, with more than 85% targeting China. The success of micromobility seems to depend on two aspects.
1) micromobility is faster than traveling by car in many situations, avoiding traffic jams
2) the diffusion of shared micromobility occurs in favourable environments, where urban consumers already appreciate and use solutions for shared mobility. The shared micromobility market across the European Union is $100 B. and will expand up to $150 B. in 2030
Objectives:
1) to develop a new microvehicle based on the smart fusion of the monowheel and scooter concepts, taking their best features and eliminating the disadvantages. The result is a silent, clean, energy efficient and safe vehicle, as well as attractive and affordable to the public so that the barriers for adopting it are minimized
2) to do an extensive demonstration and re-design activity. A fleet of vehicle will be tested in a real environment in 5 European cities including Rome, Palermo and Eilat, by hundreds of users and each vehicle can be used in stand-alone or in battery sharing mode, through a system already developed by UNIFI. The pilot in Rome and Palermo will be used for a revision and re-design process, to arrive up to a TRL 7. Afterwards, the other pilots will start for 3 months in each city testing 100 vehicles, whose results will be used to refine the vehicle up to the TRL8-9. A detailed exploitation strategy and a draft business plan for the vehicle will be draft with the data collected
3) To create a network of stakeholders to be able to directly start the dissemination and marketing of LEONARDO. The Pilots in the different cities will allow people to test the vehicle, appreciate its qualities and be able to order it in pre-series. This, together with the intensive dissemination activities during the tests, will allow to lay the foundations for a European microvehicle market
