Bloomit Ventures and Bloomit Seed I Fund are investing 1.5 million euros together in BREKR, the new Dutch manufacturer of electric mopeds. At the end of last year, this startup delivered its first mopeds in the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium. The investment will allow BREKR to expand their business in Europe.
Growth market
The market for electric scooters and mopeds is growing fast at the expense of petrol mopeds. In some European countries, a third of new mopeds and scooters sold are electric. “With Bloomit, we can quickly expand to other European countries,” says Niels Willems, one of the founders of BREKR.
Focus on Light Electric Vehicles
“We believe in this LEV-market,” says Niek van Exel, director of Bloomit Ventures. “BREKR’s ambitions are in line with our insights and future expectations of the market and makes an investment logical.” The people behind Bloomit Ventures are the founders of Babboe Bakfietsen. Willems is enthusiastic about this: “In addition to the capital injection, Bloomit brings a lot of experience gained with Babboe, their other investments and their extensive network.”
Design award
BREKR received the public award for Good Industrial Design (GIO) during the Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven. “New technology requires a new design. Just as the first cars looked like horse-drawn carriages, many electric vehicles look like they still run on petrol,” explains Jasper Hagedoorn, co-founder of BREKR. “We have chosen for a low-mounted battery box that provides better driving characteristics, makes the battery easy to remove and gives the BREKR Model B a logical design.”
Spacy sound for safety
A striking feature of the BREKR is the sound that the moped can produce. A frequently heard comment about electric scooters is that you don’t hear them coming. BREKR added sound by making the protective plate on the bottom of the battery box act like a loudspeaker. This sound can be turned off completely. When switched on, it sounds like a futuristic moped that warns other road users in a recognisable way that you are coming.
The rise of electric scooters
Electric mopeds and scooters are rapidly gaining ground in Europe. “You drive quietly, quickly and cleanly. If you include everything, the CO2 emissions are a factor of 4 lower than petrol scooters.” explains Willems. The price of an electric scooter or moped is usually higher, but the running costs are lower. “The costs for fuel, or rather electricity, are often less than 1 euro per 100 km. In addition, an electric drive has fewer wearing parts, which reduces maintenance costs.”
Climate objectives
Governments are encouraging the electrification of vehicles with a view to climate objectives. For example, mopeds in the Netherlands may only be sold as electric from 2025. Governments in other countries are also encouraging the switch to electric at various levels. BREKR therefore expects the share of electric in Europe to grow from the current 20 percent in this category to more than 60 percent in 2025.
OOST NL and investors
The investors come from the Business Angels Network of Development Company Oost NL, the development company of the East Netherlands. They are strengthening the regional economy on behalf of the provinces of Gelderland and Overijssel and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate. BREKR was initially financed by Angel investor Somers Private Investments B.V. for product development and market introduction. This business angel, like Jasper Hagedoorn and Niels Willems, will remain involved and shareholder of Smart Commute B.V. / BREKR.
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