Gearing up for a push on last mile eco-logistics

Britain’s e-commerce boom shows no signs of slowing; but as the volume of deliveries continues to rise, so too are the number of journeys completed by vans – adding to air pollution and increasing road danger.

One way of making city deliveries greener and safer is through the greater use of sustainable last mile mobility, such as electric cargo bicycles that carry goods in a platform up front, or quadracycles or trikes with freight carried in a larger box at the back.

Among the champions of these emerging forms of transport logistics is Kale AI, a start-up firm supported by Connected Places Catapult. It received £30,000 through the Transport Research & Innovation Grants (TRIG) programme’s Future of Freight challenge in 2021, and is now part of a growing community of logistics firms gathered in the Freight Innovation Cluster. It has also recently raised around £250,000 of pre-seed investment with a private capital firm.

“Our mission is to accelerate the transition to sustainable logistics in cities through a switch from vans to cargo bikes, and the impact of doing so cannot be emphasised enough,” says the company’s co-founder Nicolas Collignon.

Research conducted during his time at cargo bike delivery company Pedal Me – in collaboration with academic researchers from Westminster University – found that light electric vehicles, such as cargo bikes, can be up to 60% more efficient than vans for deliveries in cities.

This efficiency gain is attributed to three main factors. “The first is that cycles are affected much less by congestion: the average car speed in London is less than 10mph, whereas on a bicycle you can go faster,” he says.

“Secondly, finding a parking space can be very difficult for motor vehicles in cities: delivery staff can spend half their day walking to complete a delivery, whereas cargo cycles can pull up right next to a door.” Nicolas also says that sustainable last mile vehicles have access to a wide range of infrastructure such as bike lanes and low traffic neighbourhoods, so their journeys can be up to a third shorter.

“Put all of that together, and you can see a significant advantage to using cargo cycles.”

Putting science into action

After completing his PhD in computational cognitive science and AI, Nicolas joined Pedal Me, a cargo-bike delivery company, as a data scientist. There, he worked on improving delivery efficiency while also making deliveries himself in London using cargo bikes. This experience proved valuable when he started Kale AI with his two co-founders.

“It was just as the pandemic began, and I was keen to apply my knowledge from AI research into an area with climate impact, such as cities, and see how the science worked on the ground,” he explains.

He used data to monitor the performance and efficiency that cargo bike deliveries were having, and explored the potential of the sector as he saw it. “One thing that was obvious was the tools could be improved to make deliveries more efficient.” He started building technology along with two former student friends, and the trio formed Kale AI.

In 2021, they won a smart mobility innovation grant from the London Mayor alongside the Better Bankside business improvement district and King’s College to develop an app to help businesses make smarter use of delivery vehicles, and encourage a switch to electric cargo bikes and electric vans.

The following year, the company applied to Connected Places Catapult for the TRIG competition’s Future of Freight call. It developed technology that predicted where light electric vehicles would be more efficient when planning last mile delivery routes.

Meeting growing expectations

One issue the team looked to address was how to help speed up deliveries in cities to meet customers’ growing expectations.

“Urban logistics used to involve a depot outside of cities: you loaded your van at the beginning of the day, and did your deliveries throughout the day.

“But the new trend among urban operators is to have micro-hubs in the middle of cities, and demand is more dynamic. Customers expect faster turnarounds, but operators have so many different kinds of customer: businesses, consumers and those who want next day deliveries, same day, even same hour deliveries.”

Because of this complexity, operators don’t always have the correct business insights, or even know if the choices they are taking are making or losing them money, Nicolas adds. “This means they are being guided by their intuitions, which becomes very difficult if you want to scale, and especially when margins are tight.

“So the software we are developing captures data and brings insights to the surface which operators need, such as which routes are profitable, how to make optimum use of deliveries, and anticipate when uncertain levels of demand may come.”

Longer term, the insights generated may allow operators to better understand what their delivery fleet should look like: how large their cycles should be and the number of wheels they should have, or which sized electric vans are most suitable.

Sustainable last mile transport is growing in popularity, but still has a long way to go. “Eighteen months ago, the UK hosted a cargo bike logistics summit and I remember people kept repeating that ‘We are not a niche market’. But to me, if you are saying it, there’s still an issue.

“But now it feels we are at the start of something; when you cycle in London, you notice just how many more cargo bikes there are today compared to a few years ago.

“What is critical is how you can reach a tipping point, and continue this momentum,” Nicolas adds. “There are strong signs this could happen; with companies like Amazon focusing on transitioning to using cargo bikes and setting ambitious targets.”

Investment and business support

Kale’s focus now is on creating a version of its software product that can be sold to the market, growing the team, and raising further funding at the end of the year.

“Securing our TRIG grant in 2022 allowed us to test out an idea and build our network, and we have attended several Freight Innovation Cluster meetings which have helped us to understand funding options and the world of transport. I’m excited to be part of the Cluster and seeing what may come of it.”

The firm has also been supported in joining Innovate UK’s ‘Bridge AI’ initiative which aims to close the gap between technology innovation and implementation.

Nicolas is optimistic for the future of last mile deliveries, and says his firm’s software can help operators to make better informed decisions. “Operators are currently struggling to be profitable, and are suffering from a lack of data-driven business insights. Our AI driven software is fully focused on their pain points, and could radically help their businesses.

“It might even persuade more delivery companies who had previously not considered them to try out cargo bikes.”

Apply to attend our upcoming TRIG Showcase and Networking event in Birmingham (23 October).

Find out more about the Transport Research & Innovation Grants programme, and sign up to join the Freight Innovation Cluster.

Watch a short film about cargo bikes featuring Nicolas Collignon  Bullitt Cargo Bikes vs Vans – the Last Mile Delivery Study – YouTube