eRockit GmbH

“I definitely wanted to build a bicycle,” says Stefan Gulas. And that’s exactly what he did – but it didn’t turn out to be a normal bicycle. eRockit is the name of the unusual vehicle that Gulas developed and plans to bring to market as soon as possible. The eRockit combines the feeling and movement of riding a bike with the speed of a small motorcycle powered by an electric motor. eRockit riders can go up to 80 km/h – depending how fast they pedal.

Athletic Performance Multiplied by 50

However, the pedal does not power the back wheel as normal bikes do. Nor does the driver of an eRockit assist the electric motor, as electric bicycles have done up until now. Instead, Gulas appropriated the principle of a hometrainer, i.e. a system where the driver’s muscle power sets a flywheel in motion, at which point a generator picks up the rotational speed and passes it on to the engine multiplied by a factor of up to 50. The faster the eRockit rider pedals, the stronger the engine works. This is why Gulas calls his invention a “Human Hybrid.”

Modifying the Character of a Vehicle

The development of the eRockit took four years. And for the past three years, a number of prototypes have been undergoing thousands of test kilometers. Gulas and his team had to correct many details, including a filter that makes sure that the irregular pedaling of the driver is delivered evenly to the engine so that the vehicle doesn’t jerk. “We have a patent for this in Europe and the USA,” says Gulas. And yet, the bike’s biggest success is something else: “We’ve changed the very character of a vehicle. This is entirely unique,” says Gulas. And, as if that wasn’t enough: “We’ve found a way to transform eMobility into a product that people actually want to have.” Gulas argues that the bike’s pure driving pleasure and the attention it gets from other road users are two very good selling points.

The Goal: 100 Percent Emission Free Mobility

The eRockit headquarters in Berlin-Marzahn have already started receiving orders from all over the world. And yet, Gulas and his team of 15 colleagues are not content to rest on their laurels. At the moment, they are developing a smaller version of the eRockit that goes no more than 45 km/h. Plus they also have a number of cooperative agreements: for example, together with sound designer Friedrich Blutner, eRockit is working on the perfect sound for electric vehicles. Together with Windows, the team is looking for ways of equipping the eRockit with multimedia equipment. They are also working with a recharging unit manufacturer to achieve 100 percent emission-free driving. Driving the eRockit is already emission-free, but the recharging of the battery is not always so. The solution: eRockit owners with solar modules on the roofs of their houses will be able to temporarily store their solar energy and later recharge the batteries of their eRockit with it. 

Berlin’s Advantage: High Concentration of Scientific Institutions 

eRockit has already cooperated with Berlin‘s HTW University of Applied Sciences. The project focused on the development of a motor control unit. Gulas sees the high concentration of universities as one of the major advantages of doing business in Berlin, not only because of the opportunities for cooperation but also because of the large pool of well-educated graduates. An increasing number of students are writing their bachelor and/or masters theses - for example in the field of electrical engineering and mechanics – at eRockit. “Berlin is the only city I could have done this in,” says Gulas. This is the place, he argues, where he was able to find the best people for the job, i.e. young people who were competent and willing to try unusual things.