Sustainable electric motorcycle is making waves globally

In the realm of future environmentally friendly urban transportation, Stilride’s lightweight electric motorcycle stands out as a true trailblazer. With a seamless fusion of origami-inspired aesthetics and sustainable manufacturing principles, this two-wheeled vehicle has garnered widespread recognition for its innovative design and impressive performance. Now, the technology is poised to be tested for the production of future trains.

“We’re not just folding straight lines like you would with a paper airplane; we’re using curvogami – combining curves with other straight elements to create strength. It’s something that has never been done before – it exists in architecture but not in industrial products,” says Jonas Nyvang, co-founder and CEO of Stilride, in the Digital Influencer Podcast.

With its unique folding technique inspired by Japanese origami, Swedish-based Stilride has already captured the world’s attention even before the launch of their first lightweight electric motorcycle. Through a digitalized manufacturing process, recycled Swedish steel, and local production, Stilride aims to reduce waste and enhance manufacturing efficiency. The groundbreaking StilFold process involves robot-based manufacturing technology that gives life to an impressive stainless steel monocoque frame.

“The whole process begins by cutting out the optimal pieces from a flat sheet using a laser cutter. Then, we use robots to insert the sheet pieces into the folding machine and fold them. Afterward, we laser-weld them together into a complete chassis,” explains Jonas Nyvang.

Interest has been significant, long before the motorcycles hit the market.

“We’re planning to launch in 2024. Right now, we’re setting up assembly and conducting test runs at full speed. We’ve started taking in the first order backlog that we’ll execute and deliver next year. Currently, we’ve received 150 orders.”

Customers have eagerly queued up to pre-order a motorcycle, even though the vehicle comes with a price tag of 170,000 Swedish kronor.

“We’ve put our full effort into delivering the best product we believe one can get. We call it a ‘founders edition’ – it includes numbered variants, and they’ve been selling like hotcakes,” Jonas Nyvang reveals.

Transport and infrastructure giant Alstom has entered into a partnership with Stilride. Together, both companies will embark on a pilot project to explore how the unique manufacturing process can be applied to build the trains of the future.

“We have our technology division called Stilfold, which is a separate business unit where we’re looking at how we can take this steel origami to other industries, specifically to reduce costs, energy consumption, and enable smart designs. Currently, we’re not only in talks with Alstom but also with car manufacturers, trailer manufacturers, truck manufacturers, and wind energy park manufacturers.”

The future looks promising for Stilride, and the company is gearing up for expansion. Currently, they have only 15 full-time employees.

“We are fewer than you might think – we have just 15 full-time employees, and we also have some consultants, but we have quite a lot on our plate.”