LEONARDO · Project

Electric Microvehicle Combining Scooter and Monowheel for Urban Shared Mobility

transportPilotedTRL 8

Imagine crossing a self-balancing monowheel with an electric scooter — keeping the best of both and ditching the downsides. That's what LEONARDO built: a compact, silent, electric microvehicle designed for short city trips and easy connections to buses and trains. They made about a dozen prototypes first, then scaled to 50 vehicles tested by real people in Rome and Palermo, and finally produced 100 vehicles for pilots across five European cities. The goal was to go from a working prototype all the way to something you could actually pre-order.

By the numbers

100

vehicles produced for pilot deployment

vehicles field-tested in Rome and Palermo

European cities used for real-world demonstration

consortium partners across 5 countries

total project deliverables

months of pilot testing per city

The business problem

What needed solving

Cities are choking on traffic and emissions, yet existing micromobility options like e-scooters have stability and safety issues, while monowheels remain niche and hard to ride. There is no widely adopted electric microvehicle that is simultaneously safe, affordable, and designed to plug into public transit networks for seamless last-mile commuting. Fleet operators and cities need a proven, user-tested vehicle that works both for individual ownership and shared mobility schemes.

The solution

What was built

The project built a new category of electric microvehicle merging monowheel and scooter concepts. Starting from about a dozen first prototypes through in-house testing, they scaled to 50 vehicles for city pilots in Rome and Palermo, then produced 100 vehicles for expanded demonstration across 5 European cities. The vehicle supports both stand-alone use and a battery sharing system, with a digital platform for collecting operating data and user feedback.

Audience

Who needs this

Shared micromobility fleet operators (Tier, Lime, Voi, Dott)Municipal transport authorities planning last-mile solutionsLight electric vehicle manufacturers looking for new product linesReal estate developers adding mobility services to smart building complexesCorporate campus and logistics park operators needing internal transport

Business applications

Who can put this to work

Shared Mobility & Micromobility

SME

Target: Micromobility fleet operators (e.g., e-scooter sharing companies)

If you are a shared mobility operator struggling with fleet differentiation and rider retention in crowded markets — this project developed and field-tested 100 electric microvehicles across 5 European cities with hundreds of users. The vehicle supports both stand-alone ownership and battery sharing mode, giving you a dual business model. Real operating data and user feedback were collected to validate the economics.

Urban Transport & Public Transit

enterprise

Target: Municipal transport authorities and intermodal mobility planners

If you are a city transport authority looking for clean last-mile solutions that connect to existing bus and rail networks — LEONARDO built a silent, electric microvehicle specifically designed for intermodal use. It was piloted in Rome, Palermo, and Eilat with real commuters, and the project produced a draft business plan based on actual pilot data from 100 vehicles.

Electric Vehicle Manufacturing

mid-size

Target: Light electric vehicle (LEV) manufacturers and automotive component suppliers

If you are an EV manufacturer or component supplier looking to enter the growing micromobility segment — this project completed full structural and electrical/electronic design of a new vehicle category, refined through multiple prototype cycles. The consortium includes 6 industry partners and 4 SMEs across 5 countries, and the design was validated up to TRL 8-9 readiness with 100 production-series vehicles.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

What would a LEONARDO microvehicle cost?

The project objective states the vehicle was designed to be 'affordable to the public so that barriers for adopting it are minimized.' A detailed exploitation strategy and draft business plan were developed using pilot data, but specific pricing is not published in the available project data. Pre-orders were accepted during the pilot phase.

Can this be produced at industrial scale?

The project progressed from about a dozen first prototypes to 50 vehicles for the Rome and Palermo pilots, then to 100 vehicles for the expanded pilot series. This production ramp-up demonstrates manufacturing scalability. The consortium includes 6 industry partners positioned to support series production.

What is the IP situation — can I license this technology?

The project was coordinated by Universita degli Studi di Firenze with 13 partners across 5 countries. IP arrangements would be governed by the consortium agreement. The battery sharing system was already developed by UNIFI prior to the project, so licensing terms would need to cover both the vehicle design and that pre-existing technology.

Has this been tested with real users or just in a lab?

Extensive real-world testing was conducted. 50 vehicles were tested by hundreds of users on a rotating basis in Rome and Palermo, followed by 100 vehicles deployed across 5 European cities including Eilat. Users provided weekly feedback and operating data was automatically collected through a digital platform.

What regulations does this vehicle comply with?

The project objective explicitly includes analysis of 'safety and regulatory aspects' as part of the development process. The vehicle was legally operated on public roads in 5 cities across 3 countries (Italy, Israel, and others selected by tender), suggesting regulatory compliance was achieved in multiple jurisdictions.

How long until this could be on the market?

The project ran from March 2021 to August 2024 and is now closed. It targeted TRL 8-9 by project end, with pre-orders accepted during pilots. A draft business plan was produced. The technology appears near market-ready, pending commercial manufacturing decisions by the consortium partners.

Consortium

Who built it

The LEONARDO consortium brings together 13 partners from 5 countries (Germany, Spain, Israel, Italy, Poland), with a strong industry presence at 46%. Six industry partners and 4 SMEs are involved alongside 2 universities and 2 research organizations, which signals serious commercialization intent rather than a purely academic exercise. The coordinator is the University of Florence (UNIFI), which also contributed pre-existing battery sharing technology. The geographic spread across Southern and Central Europe plus Israel provides diverse regulatory and market testing environments. For a business looking to engage, this consortium has the industrial depth to discuss manufacturing partnerships and the academic backbone for continued R&D.

UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI FIRENZECoordinator · IT
ROMA CAPITALEparticipant · IT
MUNICIPALITY OF EILATparticipant · IL
FUNDACION TEKNIKERparticipant · ES
VERKEHRSUNFALLFORSCHUNG AN DER TU DRESDEN GMBHparticipant · DE
AZIENDA SANITARIA LOCALE ROMA 1participant · IT
ANTPROJECT TVIP SLparticipant · ES
FONDAZIONE PIN - POLO DI PRATO UNIVERSITA DI FIRENZEthirdparty · IT
WOJSKOWA AKADEMIA TECHNICZNA IM.JAROSLAWA DABROWSKIEGOparticipant · PL

How to reach the team

Universita degli Studi di Firenze, Italy — reach out through the project website or university's engineering department

Order a report on this consortium See UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI FIRENZE profile →

Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

Want an introduction to the LEONARDO team for licensing, manufacturing partnership, or fleet deployment? SciTransfer can connect you directly with the right consortium partner.

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