The company Podbike was established in 2016 by Per Hassel Sørensen and Anne-Lise Heggland. The company is based at Gausel, midway between Stavanger and Sandnes, and has a small but skilled team of experienced engineers, creative enthusiasts and business-oriented people.
About the product
Podbike AS wishes to contribute to a sustainable everyday life by offering the most environmentally friendly and energy efficient alternative for daily commuting and short transport stages. They have developed an electric bicycle with four wheels and full protection against the weather with room for one adult and one child. The solution is based on a patented and design protected personal transport platform where the company has full ownership of all hardware and software.
"In order to create a practical vehicle, we have been forced to construct the main components ourselves. We focus on delivering a practical product that is really fun to use. It is sustainable and must be produced with a minimal carbon footprint and extensive use of reusable material," say the founders.
Patents, trademark and design protection
Podbike owns a strong portfolio of patents, design registrations and trademarks that protect the business and brand. Technical details that they consider difficult to keep as trade secrets are chosen for patenting. Patenting of unique solutions is assessed continuously in relation to cost/benefit. Some solutions that are too difficult or expensive to patent are often published. In that way, they prevent others from patenting something similar. They have kept other parts of the technology secret. It is primarily technology that is difficult and expensive to extract via "reverse engineering". In the period before exhibitions and conferences it is busy, because then they have to decide whether to patent or publish. If they are unsure, let them show this, and keep it a secret until they have made a decision.
– We constantly consider whether our solutions can be patented and search for valid patents. Fortunately, we operate in a field with few players and where we are among the leaders in technology development.
Per Hassel Sørensen
Per Hassel Sørensen
Since they are developing an international product, they have applied for and been granted both the word mark Podbike and the logo as a registered trademark in important markets globally. The same applies to the trademark Frikar, which by the way means a free man, i.e. a person with freedom. Design registrations are approved in both Norway and the EU.
Regulations in the area are important
The founders are concerned about regulations in the area in which they operate, as it affects the market opportunities for Podbike. Therefore, they are also an active member of various standardization committees for electric bicycles/cargo bicycles and small, light electric vehicles globally. For example ISO (Global), IEC (Global electric) and CEN (Europe). This gives the company the opportunity to monitor and influence what kind of technical requirements will eventually come.
External help
The company has used external help with IPR in the early phase from IPR advisers in Innovation Norway and in connection with various development programs and conferences. Since the start, they have hired IPR specialists at home and abroad as advisers and consultants. In addition, their technical manager, Per Hassel Sørensen, has 30 years' experience of preparing patent applications, design protection and other forms of legal protection.
Thoughts about the future
Podbike aims to become a leading global manufacturer of light electric vehicles and associated infrastructure with minimal environmental impact. They also see that the bicycle is a perfect platform for self-driving vehicles, as the technological challenges are relatively simple and the risk of accidents minimal compared to, for example, cars or buses. They are out early, but they believe that the timing is perfect to offer autonomy that makes cities better to live in. Their goal is for the vehicle to replace as much as possible the use of cars over short distances.
Public support
Podbike AS has received grants and loans from Innovation Norway in the establishment phase as well as grants through the Environmental Technology Scheme. Innovation Norway in Stavanger has also been an important support player in connection with the application for funds through Horizon 2020 in the EU.
In 2018, the company received support through the SME Instrument, phase 1. In October 2020, they applied for the EIC Accelerator (Horizon 2020) and were among the 4% of 4,200 companies in Europe that reached step 2 of the evaluation, and achieved Seal of Excellence status.
The company has also been granted a three-year Skattefunn from the Research Council of Norway for the years 2018-2020.
Introducing Podbike® FRIKAR®
