National Manufacturing Institute Scotland
Case Studies
Electric moped seller explores green shoring and plans to grow its team in Scotland
Glasgow-based company, Electro-peds, sells electric mopeds in the UK and Europe.
With plans to be the changing face of electric micro-mobility, it worked with the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS) to explore how to make its manufacturing supply chain greener and bring it to Scotland.
Challenge
Most electric mopeds are currently manufactured in Asia, providing limited insight into processes and materials, making it difficult to monitor their carbon footprint.
A supply chain closer to home could help speed up innovation and improve the circularity of parts - meaning fewer electric mopeds being sent to landfill.
How did NMIS help?
Funded by Route to Impact, the NMIS Design Engineering team first completed a full assessment of the existing product, including an inventory of parts. These were assessed by weight and material before methods of manufacture were identified. This process allowed the creation of a lifecycle assessment, highlighting the components with the greatest environmental impact that could be better designed.
The Electro-peds team then worked with NMIS to develop ideas around product requirements and business targets, focusing on creating a more sustainable and reliable supply chain.
Working with NMIS has been a game-changer for us at Electro-peds. Through our collaboration, we've developed a clearer understanding of the design for sustainability opportunities and types of manufacturing supply chain required to produce more sustainable, higher quality products in Scotland. The team at NMIS helped us identify the components with the greatest environmental impact, and we worked together to come up with ideas around product requirements and business targets. It's been a great experience, and we're looking forward to continued collaboration with NMIS in the future.
Paul Rafferty, Electro-peds Ltd
Business Impact
Electro-peds now has a clearer understanding of the design for sustainability opportunities and types of manufacturing supply chain required to produce more sustainable, higher quality products in Scotland. Additionally, the work done with NMIS has matured its understanding of its product and potential, sparking continued innovation.
It will use the project outcomes to inform the local design and manufacture of the next generation of sustainable, high-quality, easy-to-maintain electric mopeds. This next step includes growing its team to incorporate engineering, production, quality, procurement, and other functions.
NMIS is continuing to support Electro-peds on its green growth journey. It is funding an intern to support the development of a new product concept and specifications under the supervision of the NMIS Design Engineering Team Lead. A follow-on larger scale collaborative R&D project is also being targeted.