EcoMotors Receives $23.5M Investment
Don’t put all your eggs in the electric powertrain basket. The following article demonstrates that companies still believe the internal combustion engine has a lot going for it. The CEO of EcoMotors, Don Runkle, has been around the industry a long time, first with GM, then Delphi before joining EcoMotors. Note that the company has applied for a Department of Energy loan to assist in converting an old GM engine plant to make the new engines. It will be interesting to see if the DOE considers this an advanced technology worth investing in, given the administration’s overwhelming support of electrification. The ACP will continue to track this and other technology advances that impact this region.
The following is from a Detroit Free Press article dated July 13, 2010. A link to the article is here.
The following is from a Detroit Free Press article dated July 13, 2010. A link to the article is here.
Troy firm EcoMotors gets $23.5 million from tech titans for new engine
Troy firm's technology uses fewer parts
BY SARAH A. WEBSTER
FREE PRESS AUTOMOTIVE EDITOR
EcoMotors International, a 2-year-old start-up supplier headquartered in Troy with about three dozen employees, just got a boost in confidence for its innovative high-efficiency, low-cost, lightweight engine, called the Opoc.
On Monday, EcoMotors CEO Don Runkle said the company had secured a $23.5-million investment from Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates and Vinod Khosla, one of the co-founders of Sun Microsystems. "I think he liked what we were doing," Runkle said of Gates.
While much of the industry has been captivated by the emerging electric car market, EcoMotors has staked its business on its Opoc engine. Although it runs on unleaded gasoline and diesel fuel, the engine is 20% to 50% more efficient than a standard combustion engine.
EcoMotors also is awaiting word on a $200-million U.S. Department of Energy loan that would enable the company to build engines at an old GM plant in Livonia, creating jobs.
"We plan to build the company here in Michigan," Runkle said.
Runkle said the Troy company's innovative Opoc engine could be on the market in as little as two to three years, if development goes according to plan.
The company's newest round of funding -- $23.5 million from Gates and Khosla Ventures, run by Khosla -- will be used for development and testing of the company's Opoc engine technology, Runkle said.
The firm is now working on its sixth-generation Opoc engine, which uses opposed pistons and cylinders to achieve up to 50% greater fuel economy and a variety of other benefits versus standard combustion engines. For example, Runkle said it is more powerful and has fewer parts, making it less expensive to produce.
The engine was conceived by Peter Hofbauer, EcoMotors' founder, chairman and chief technology officer, who is also the former head of powertrain development at Volkswagen.
EcoMotors, which also has offices in Livonia and near Santa Barbara, Calif., is still awaiting word on a $200-million U.S. Department of Energy loan request. That would enable the company to build its engines at an old GM plant in Livonia.
But Runkle said the company is not depending on those funds to succeed, and he expects the engine will be on the market in the next few years. He said the engine has broad applications from light cars and trucks to other equipment.
Runkle even carries one in his briefcase that he says can power a home.
While much of the industry has been focused on the emerging electric car market, EcoMotors' Opoc runs on regular unleaded gasoline and diesel fuel.
And Runkle was confident that engines powered by regular fuel would remain on the market for a very long time, despite their new competition. That's because gasoline engines continue to meet most needs at a lower cost.
"There is a revolution going on right now in propulsion systems," said Runkle, a former GM and Delphi executive who worked on electric car projects. "There's far more investment in internal combustion than in electrification."
