Aircards: North of Tyne Innovation Recovery Grant
Aircards secure funding to grow business with innovative state-of-the-art technology
Gateshead based business, if.Vehicles, were able to use capital secured from Innovation SuperNetwork to develop their if.Micro delivery vehicles, aiming to revolutionise last-mile delivery.
“Unlike a lot of other organisations out there the Innovation SuperNetwork are not only a signpost but their staff have a wealth of knowledge expertise in the development and commercialisation of innovation.”
Bill Clare – Chairman, if.Vehicles
Looking for support
Working with the development of micro electric vehicles, if.Vehicles work with innovative technology to decarbonize the vehicle industry and the lived environment. They are experts in Circular Economy Design, Engineering and Decarbonization and have focused their initial innovation within the e-commerce and logistics sectors.
if.Vehicles were working on their flagship product, if.Micro, a transformable EV which removes the need for larger delivery vehicles, and realised they required more capital to continue development. With extra funding and support, their aim was to bring this product to market, helping to achieve their mission of reducing CO2 emissions and congestion through the delivery of sustainable vehicle solutions.
Support from Innovation SuperNetwork
With the help of grant funding and support from the Innovation SuperNetwork, if.Vehicles were able to develop a core aspect of their innovative technology, in the form of a transforming chassis, which forms the platform of their new if.Micro delivery vehicles.
They were able to bring in the support of external experts, who helped them to rapidly develop the technology. Innovation SuperNetwork also helped to connect if.Vehicles with a range of key collaborators and stakeholders, specifically their now commercial partners, The Algorithm People.
“The ISN were useful as a sounding board to ensure our business strategy was robust and defensible”
Bill Clare – Chairman, if.Vehicles
Productive impact
The support allowed if.vehicles to launch their new innovative product – the if.Micro. The if.Micro is a vehicle which can be operated in both pedestrian areas and on-road. Integrated correctly it can revolutionise last-mile delivery; reducing congestion, traffic and emissions, whilst also offering greater customer service and reducing costs by over 30% per package. Without the support, if.vehicles would not have been able to engage with their customers who are now in the process of finalising commercial contracts.
if.Vehicles have also been able to keep their business and production within the North East thanks to the grant and support received.
