Road-legal electric scooters typically consist of a tubular metal frame, covered with plastic body panels. Swedish startup Stilride is taking what it claims is a more eco-friendly approach with a scooter made from folded sheets of stainless steel.
Named the SUS1, the vehicle started out as a government-funded research project, and is now being designed in partnership with Swedish product development company Semcon.
In the current prototype, the body is made of sections of both 0.5- and 1.5-mm stainless steel sheeting. Before being welded together, these are folded and curved into the desired shapes utilizing Stilride's proprietary LIGHT.FOLD robotic production system.
Company co-founder Jonas Nyvang tells us that in the final version, the aim is to have the entire body made from a single sheet that gets folded origami-style.
According to Nyvang and co-founder Tue Beijer, this building method not only results in a distinctive look, but it also requires considerably less material and manual labor than the manufacturing of traditional tube-and-panel scooters. It can additionally be carried out in small, regional factories, cutting down on the transportation of raw materials and finished products. And finally, both the steel scraps and the scooter bodies themselves are fully recyclable.
Nyvang says that a production model should be available in 2022/2023, priced at around US$5,500. Specs have yet to be announced, but he promises us that "it will be outstanding both in range and speed."
Potential buyers can register for updates via the link below.
Source: Stilride
