DeLaurier and Morin

The First Electric Motor Cycle
A patent application was filed on 5 June 1869 by Emile Delaurier and Jules Morin in Paris for an electric vélocipède.
Although the patent does not include a drawing of the machine, DeLaurier and Morin are very explicit about the operation of their tricycle and the method of proposed construction.
The author goes on to say, "are the first in the world of the Automobile to claim in their patent the dynamic braking and the recovery of kinetic energy in descents to recharge the batteries... Let's not forget we are in 1869 and today's hybrid and electric automobiles and motorcycles use these two technologies."
The design was the result of some 20 years of research and experimentation. In 1848 Emile Delaurier patented an engine which relied on the expansion of gases and in 1854 an electric battery. He worked with the Comte de la Valette on a free electricity system from 1855 to 1858 (as did Tesla some decades later). In the 1860s he developed several electric generator engines, and then in 1869 invented another electric battery.
Source: Didier Mahistre

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