Member Article

These six startups aren't waiting until 2040 to clean up London's air

Yesterday’s announcement that the Government would be banning the sale of petrol and diesel cars by 2040 as part of new clean air plan attracted derision from critics who argued that the proposals do nothing about remedying the nation’s toxic air right now.

Despite the Government’s inertia on the issue, there are already a whole raft of startups and businesses working on innovations and products looking to tackle excessive emissions and pollution.

Yesterday six of some of the most promising early-stage companies working in the area completed a three month stint working with Transport for London (TfL) on their innovations in the hope of getting their products to market.

The innovation programme, which was run by Nitrous in conjunction with TfL, saw the companies working on solutions to reduce emissions and ways to improve passenger experiences through a more thoughtful and effective use of data.

Alchera Technologies, Blubel, Faxi, NumberEight, Pedals and TravelAi have all spent the last three months working with TfL and executives from businesses including Brompton and AXA on market validation and customer tests, with added insights from TfL’s own open data platform.

George Johnston, CEO of Nitrous said that the programme had provided an ‘invaluable’ opportunity for the startups to get their product-market fit right, with many getting a clearer idea about their target markets and that three startups had already been tapped up for pilot programmes.

He said: “This programme has been invaluable for each founder by helping them to get their product-market fit right - through making product tweaks and being clearer about their target markets and future opportunities.

“This has come from having conversations with decision makers - doing this at such an early stage is a unique focus for us, and with three pilots already in discussion, we know it’s an effective approach.”

Val Shawcross CBE, Deputy Mayor for Transport, added: “With more than 40 per cent of Londoners using apps and websites to plan their journeys, these start-ups can make a real difference in helping Londoners choose to use public transport, walk and cycle.

“It’s exactly the type of innovative work that we want to see as part of the Mayor’s Transport Strategy to deliver a fairer, greener, healthier and more prosperous city.”