top of page
IMG_5524.jpg

Project overview

Growing the e-bike and light EV industry.

Project Title: The Light Electric Vehicle Regulatory Science and Innovation Network.

Capabilities demonstrated: e-bikes, e-cargo bikes and low powered, zero-emissions vehicles, expert networks development techniques, evidence-based policy making and regulatory science methods.

Client: Bicycle Association

Date: April 2024 to September 2024

​

The job to be done

The central aim of this project is to safeguard and grow the e-bike and light EV industry. We are using regulatory science and the Regulatory Science and Innovation Network (RS&IN), to develop evidence-based policy and regulation that address critical concerns and achieves balanced outcomes for industry and society.

​

Our network of industry, research, regulators and policymakers is already producing interventions that help tackle issues that are determining the pace and scale of adoption, and the extent to which UK science and innovation is driving sector growth.

Civikas is working with the Bicycle Association to establish this regulatory network of experts and to develop plans to sustain this over the long term. Funding for a Discovery phase has been provided by Innovate UK.

​

The key challenges

Regulation. As we electrify personal mobility and transform how we live and move in our cities and places, there are knotty industry-critical issues requiring a deft combination of regulatory science and regulatory affairs.

​

Collaboration. This requires collaboration between a wide range of stakeholders; government, regulators, retailers, manufacturers and users, engaging in a structured way to determine the pace and scale of adoption and the role that UK science and innovation will play.

​

Thinking about systems. There are many inter-connected issues that the network is seeking to address including: the safety and performance of lithium ion battery technologies; 'anti-tampering' for enhanced safety and security vs 'right to repair'; cycle logistics; communications technologies such as vehicle-to-everything (so called V2X) in relation to the cycle and low-powered zero emission industries, and how they innovate within the ecosystem of automotive, autonomy and planning, and in relation to cyclists and other vulnerable road users.

​

The approach taken

In the 'discovery' phase, we have focused on working collaboratively with network participants to identify the regulatory challenges faced by industry and research partners and work together on appropriate regulatory tools as a way to guide the research and innovation responses. To establish the network and identify relevant issues, we have worked with the BA to:

  • Complete 7 workshops and multiple one-to-one meetings with over 30 different businesses including Bosch, Brompton, EAV, Frog, Halfords, KwikFit/Fettle, Madison/Shimano, Laka, Lime, Pashley and Pedal Me.

  • Engage over 15 different universities, and RTOs including Universities of Bristol, Edinburgh Napier, Oxford, Oxford Brookes, Leeds, Newcastle, King’s College London, Royal College of Art, UCL and UWE.

  • Engage Research & Technology Organisations including Warwick Manufacturing Group, and the Transport Research Laboratory.

  • Engage government and regulators including DfT, DBT, Office for Product Safety and Standards and the Confederation of the European Bicycle Association.

 

Outcome and impact

As the Discovery phase comes to an end we have:

  • Identified 5 categories of regulatory issues and possible responses to these that we will seek to test. Ranging from product safety to tariffs and new UK-based testing facilities.

  • Signed up new partners (RTO’s, academics and business), willing to take some accountability for running the network.

  • Secured the written support of Government and other industry partners to seek funding for the implementation phase of this project where we hope to design and test some of the new regulatory measures that we have started to develop with network participants.

  • Submitted a bid for the next stage of work to Innovate UK.

 

Overall, the project has engaged and established a network of highly skilled and knowledgeable subject experts that the BA will continue to engage. The network is already shaping the strategic priorities of network members and identifying new solutions that would not have emerged without this new collaboration.​​​

bottom of page