Blubrake, with its anti-lock braking system (ABS) for e-bikes, is experiencing rapid growth. Also thanks to Primo Climate.
Whether in city traffic or on rugged mountain trails, e-bikes are now a common sight. In Italy in 2024, 274,000 were sold: that's roughly as if every single resident of a municipality the size of Verona had bought one. Globally, the market is valued at 36.6 billion dollars in 2023; in China alone, 380 million are in circulation. Only a tiny percentage of electric bikes, however, is equipped with an anti-lock braking system (ABS). It is precisely on this safeguard – fundamental in terms of safety – that Blubrake is working, a deep tech company that is fully in the midst of a strong growth phase. Following a capital increase closed in April 2025, by the end of the year it raised a further 2.5 million euros in a round led by the Indian group Suprajit and by Primo Capital through the Primo Climate fund.
ABS systems – those that, in essence, prevent the wheels from locking up when braking suddenly – are standard for cars: in Europe they have been mandatory since 2004 for all newly registered vehicles. This is not yet the case for e-bikes, which pose different and more complex technical challenges. "On an e-bike, the available space is very limited, so the system must be extremely compact and integrate naturally into the vehicle, without affecting design, weight or handling," Fabio Todeschini, co-founder of Blubrake, explains to LifeGate.
"A second key aspect is the ratio between the weight of the rider and that of the vehicle. On an electric bicycle, the person's weight is significantly greater than that of the bike itself, whereas on motorcycles and cars the vehicle accounts for the predominant share of the mass. This makes the dynamic behaviour more variable and complex to manage for an ABS system controlling the braking," he continues. "Finally, the smaller, lighter wheels typical of e-bikes tend to lock up far more easily and quickly than those of motorcycles and cars. This means the ABS system must react in extremely short timeframes and with great precision."
Blubrake, an Italian company founded in 2015 as a spin-off of the Politecnico di Milano, has filed more than twenty international patents for ABS systems specifically designed for e-bikes and light electric vehicles. "What we are seeing is strongly growing demand, both from manufacturers and from the end market," says Fabio Todeschini. "For this reason, we expect that within 4–5 years, ABS on e-bikes could move from a niche solution to a market standard, especially on higher-performance models oriented towards urban and commuter use." That is, for the daily journeys where riders contend with traffic, rain, intersections, and where it is therefore essential that the vehicle responds well to sudden braking.
This investment round, Todeschini continues, acts as something of a watershed. "In past years we built the foundations: we developed a solid technological base, grew our internal know-how, built the team and filed more than 20 international patents," he recounts. It was also the phase of testing the market's response to the first generation of the product and then designing a second, conceived for wider rollout. Now a different phase is opening – one in which there are the partners, the commercial structure and the financial resources to aim for global growth.
Primo Climate, the first Italian fund dedicated exclusively to climate tech, managed by Primo Capital, is precisely in search of solutions that cut CO2 emissions while also meeting the needs of industrial supply chains. In addition to investing in these companies, Primo Climate brings them into an ecosystem of partners, including LifeGate.
"In the transition from fossil-fuel vehicles to electric ones, engine technology alone is not enough: enabling factors are also needed, such as braking systems suited to this type of vehicle and a coherent regulatory framework," emphasises Simone Molteni, general partner of the fund alongside Giusy Cannone and Ezio Ravaccia. "This is precisely the role we see for Blubrake. It is an enabler of the transition towards the electrification of transport, both in developing countries and here in Europe."
"Many urban journeys – not only of people, but also of small loads and deliveries – can be made with electric bicycles, cargo bikes and similar vehicles. This, however, is contingent on them having adequate safety levels," he concludes. "Thanks to the entry of a Chinese and an Indian partner, it becomes possible to look towards markets where there is a strong propensity for cycling, but where the vehicles currently in circulation are often old and polluting."