Tool 3

Personal transport, such as cars, taxis, motorbikes and scooters, is normally the dominant cause of CO₂ footprint and cost. A contemporary electric car only works with a 30 kWh of lithium battery storage, but pedal assisted bikes could be built at low cost for maximum durability. An electric bike like the zero-fossil energy development (ZED) bike opens up new routes across a congested metropolis or even rolling countryside. A power-hungry electric car such as a Nissan Leaf uses 10 times more electricity to make the same journey than a ZEDbike. In a society running on renewable electricity, it will be important to move from cars to bikes for the daily commute, as electricity needs to be shared among many users. There are major social benefits in halving the size of a contemporary car and running it on clean and silent electric power generated from local renewable sources. The ‘filling station of the future’ proposed by ZEDfactory meets all of these challenges.