Renewable energy entrepreneur Brendan Boyd has invested £250,000 to launch Hopp, an undocked electric bike sharing service, in Belfast, a move that illustrates how established clean energy investors are extending capital into adjacent low-carbon infrastructure beyond generation and storage. The venture has launched with a fleet of more than 100 electric bikes and has created three jobs, with plans to expand across Belfast and later Derry.

Aircore is a Belfast-based renewable energy investment and asset management business founded by Boyd in 2010, building a portfolio of wind, solar and hydro projects across Northern Ireland, and operating Aircore Ventures as its investment arm for sustainability-focused businesses.

Hopp is a Reykjavik-founded micro-mobility platform providing electric scooters, e-bikes and franchise software, operating in more than 70 locations internationally.

Boyd said the investment reflects changing attitudes toward transport, citing "greater awareness of sustainability, congestion and the environmental impact of how we travel," and that running Aircore gave him a strong understanding of sustainable infrastructure and how consumer behaviour is changing.

Boyd's move extends a pattern already visible in his portfolio: prior investments span EV charging infrastructure and hydrogen storage, alongside his original wind, solar and hydro assets. Micro-mobility is the newest addition to that spread rather than a departure from it.

The UK micro-mobility market was valued at $2.08 billion in 2024 and is forecast to reach $6.20 billion by 2033, growing at close to 13% annually, driven by urban congestion pressures and demand for lower-carbon transport options.

For energy-sector investors, the logic is straightforward: portfolios built on generation and storage assets face long payback periods and capital intensity, while urban mobility ventures offer faster-cycling, asset-light exposure to the same decarbonisation trend, diversifying risk without abandoning the sustainability thesis.

The Belfast launch also signals continued investor confidence in Northern Ireland's clean transport uptake, following the earlier rollout of EV charging infrastructure that Boyd backed through EasyGo.

Source: The Irish News / IMARC Group