Bristol university students design electric trailers to cut car journeys

In the next few months, the team will be looking to partner with a supermarket to trial its invention

A group of students is developing an electric trailer that can be clipped to a bike or e-scooter to cut the number of car journeys to supermarkets.

Shoppers would be able to unlock the trailer with a debit or credit card, before bringing their shopping home.

One of the students said: "We hope this sustainable solution will help the environment and consumers."

The entrepreneurs from the University of Bristol have now been awarded £10,000 to help with their invention.

After the shopper returns home, the trailer could be left for a company employee to return to the supermarket.

Sam Bell, Louis Cocking, Artemis Fragkopoulos, Nigel Deshpande and Tarun George Maddila are the team behind Slant

The team of Masters students, which includes a Mercedes engineer and medical physicist and finance, biology and history graduates, said the trailers were almost "weightless" due to their electric motors.

They believe the design could cut the estimated 4.5bn car journeys made to supermarkets in England each year.

Artemis Fragkopoulos, one of those behind the design, said the number of car trips was "mind-boggling", with 73% of shoppers using cars to get to and from the supermarket.

On average, trips using the trailer would cost £4 - priced cheaper than the taxis many currently use for food shops. The e-trailer could also be pushed on foot.

Sam Bell, Louis Cocking, Nigel Deshpande and Tarun George Maddila are the other students behind Slant, a business they created to help solve real-world problems.

The team pitched their idea in the university's annual Runway competition, where they became one of six winning businesses.

In the next few months, Slant will look to partner with a supermarket to trial the trailer. It plans to raise seed funding later in the year before pursuing a patent.

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