720307Brompton Power SystemClosedGRD Development of PrototypeInnovate UKBrompton Bicycle Ltd. is the designer and manufacturer of the famous folding bike. Sold in 42 countries 35,000 bikes were made in London in 2012, 73% being exported. Turnover is growing at 25% a year and the company is working on the next generation of world-class products to build on this success. Williams Advanced Engineering takes Williams F1’s cutting edge Formula One technology and adapts it for commercial applications, developing highly innovative products which are improving energy efficiency, safety and performance in public transport, automotive, mining, oil & gas, aerospace and energy generation. In recent years sales of Electric Power Assisted Cycles (‘e-bikes’) have boomed. While the UK has been slow to adopt the concept 700,000 e-bikes were sold in Europe in 2011 and 400,000 in Japan. Congestion, pollution and public transport reaching capacity are social issues in much of the world. E-bikes allow faster travel for less effort and lower barriers to cycling such as physical ability, journey distances and hills. They broaden the appeal of cycling and are a new alternative to cars and mass transit for many people. However, current ebike propulsion systems are bulky and heavy. No-one has yet made a product that combines the convenient portability of a good folding bike with the benefits of electrical assistance. Brompton will use Williams’ expertise in electrical hybrid power systems to produce an innovative electrical drive of breakthrough small size and low weight, built to perfectly fit the Brompton bike. Combining this new system and Brompton’s world-leading design will make a new class of product; a vehicle that takes you 40 miles across a city without effort then folds up to be carried onto other forms of transport or sit under your desk. To be engineered and manufactured in the Britain, and sold around the world, we are aiming for both a commercial export success for the UK and a new solution to some of our society’s pressing transport issues.