Wireless charging for e-bikes has been underway for some time now, with the potential to revolutionize the charging landscape. LEVA-EU member TILER’s loading tile is now being used in practice at various locations.
TILER developed the induction technology for its charging tile in collaboration with the Delft University of Technology.
Shared bicycle provider MOBIAN has recently started using the tile in Amsterdam to wirelessly charge its fleet of e-bikes immediately after use. No special hub administrator is needed to arrange this, enabling the vulnerabilities of regular chargers to be bypassed.
To integrate the loading tile, it is only necessary to replace the regular bicycle kickstand with a special loading stand that allows wireless charging. This makes it relatively easy for bicycle sharing and rental companies to adapt their bicycles.
The loading tiles have also been utilized by shared-bicycle scheme providers elsewhere, for example at NH Hotel Leeuwenhorst in Noordwijkerhout and at Arnhem Central.
Park and Ride provider MOBIAN has expanded its range of shared bicycles with electric shared bicycles in Amsterdam, utilizing LEVA-EU member TILER’s innovative product to combat previous drawbacks.
The new e-bicycles are wirelessly charged on a TILER charging tile via a special charging stand. The e-bikes are charged immediately after use with no hub administrator required.
The booming market for electric bicycles continues to bring fresh innovation. The e-bike charging process is redesigned with TILER’s product, which has transformed the traditional methods for charging e-bikes. “Parking is charging and nothing else needs to be done. All it takes is a Charging Tile and the bike stand must be replaced with TILER’s own Stand,” says TILER marketing manager Amarins Tamminga. “This is ideal for unattended shared bicycle fleets, where charging is sometimes forgotten by the user and standard chargers are very fragile and not made for such intensive use.”
‘In TILER we see a cool vandal-proof solution’
MOBIAN founder Sven Snel speaks of “an awesome, new, and accessible way to charge e-bikes. The trend of the e-bike has not escaped our attention in recent years, but to be able to offer electric shared bicycles in a good way on our MOBIHUBS turned out to be quite a challenge. We have ventured into e-bikes before, but too often encountered destruction of our charging products,” says Snel. “In TILER we see a great vandal-proof solution and are therefore happy to take on the challenge of adding e-bikes to the shared mobilities on our MOBIHUBS again.”
Charging solution for rental bicycles
MOBIAN is not the first to collaborate with TILER; the brand is already active in other shared bike concepts, such as rental bicycles in hotels and fleets of e-bikes for staff. They have also recently started a project with a bicycle sharing hub at Arnhem Central.
“We are very excited to start this project with MOBIAN, especially because they have experienced for themselves that there must be a charging solution if you want to offer e-bikes in autonomous hubs. TILER’s vision is to change cities, more focused on people and nature, and the combination with MOBIAN’s park & ride concept fits perfectly with this,” says Christiaan van Nispen, founder of TILER.
From this week on, e-bikes can be rented at the MOBIHUB Ijsbaanpad location and later this month also at MOBIHUB Amsterdam West. If the project is successful, the companies hope to be able to further roll out the scheme in various Dutch cities.
LEVA-EU member Tiler showcases their e-bike charging unit at Move 2022, with industry interest for this novel charging solution continuing to grow
For those unfamiliar, Tiler offers a new patented e-Bike charging infrastructure technology that relies simply on a kickstand and a tile built flush into the floor. The cable-free system utilizes inductive charging, with energy transfer taking place between the embedded infrastructure in the floor and a unique kickstand that is apparently compatible with around 80% of the market’s e-Bikes.
This unique solution combats a growing issue within the LEV sphere – obtrusive charging infrastructure that removes valuable street space and may create a trip hazard. A single in-ground eBike charging tile measures 300mm x 500mm x 80mm, while the platform iteration comes in at 1748mm x 600mm and 94mm deep.
