From a thesis at ESTACA to marketing a battery-free electric bicycle
What is the purpose of a thesis? The example of the research conducted by Edgar Tournon proves that it often leads to very concrete and useful innovations that change our daily lives. At the end of 2020, he developed a prototype for a chainless bicycle fitted with super-capacitors as part of his doctorate co-supervised by ESTACA and the Claude Bernard University in Lyon. Today, STEE, the company that financed his thesis, is pre-marketing the Pi-Pop, a new-generation electric bicycle without batteries that can be recharged on an electrical outlet, but with super-capacitors that can deliver electrical power whenever the cyclist needs it. The super-capacitors are recharged during braking or on downhill runs. Thanks to innovative super-capacitor technology, the bike no longer needs to be recharged at the mains.
Three years of research to develop a new generation of energy self-sufficient electric bicycle
A doctoral student at ESTACA from 2017 to 2020, Edgar Tournon conducted his research with the Energy and Embedded Systems for Transport (S2ET) division, whose mission is to develop innovative solutions for electrified methods of transport, that are cleaner, more user-friendly and environmentally friendly, smarter, safer and better suited to the needs of new mobilities. His thesis was entitled: “Optimal design of a mass-produced hybrid electric-assist bicycle using supercapacitors.” The goal was to analyse and design a new generation of battery-free bicycles that run solely on human energy but allow the level of effort and fatigue to be controlled. “As a scientist and sportsman at heart, he went so far as to produce a prototype hybrid recumbent bike without a chain and with solar panels, which he tested during the “Sun Trip 2020” challenge.
A 100% ecological electric bicycle
Based on the studies conducted by Edgar Tournon into super-capacitors, STEE has developed a recyclable bicycle weighing 22kg and capable of doing up to 25km/h with assistance. The super-capacitors store energy from the rider’s own effort and release it in the form of electric power assistance if required, for example to climb a hill or accelerate.
This is a major innovation in the world of electric bikes, as the lithium-free energy storage system has a lifespan one hundred times greater than that of conventional batteries and means the bike can run solely on human energy. Not only is it no longer necessary to recharge the battery before setting off, so less energy is consumed, but the bike is also very environmentally friendly as its components do not contain any rare metals.
To find out more about Pi-pop, the recyclable electric bicycle with unlimited range marketed by STEE
