Sequoia Capital-backed Oorja Protonics could be energy-producing cells of methanol to charge the batteries in forklifts - but its new product, design OorjaPac 1, could give him a big-time bowl in the plug-in vehicle market. Provision of 50 situations much more energy than on-board batteries that power cell competition, model 1 could extend the range of electric vehicles like General Motors’ Chevy Volt or Nissan sheet two to three situations — a set of improvement that could cause green car salesmen much hotter.
“Until now, our revenues have come from industrial applications such as forklifts and warehouse fleets, but now we are near the edges of the automotive market,” Oorja CEO Sanjiv Malhotra told The Inquirer. “The older cars, batteries have a set of 100 to 150 miles – this could lead to 2x or 3x.”
With one of the biggest objections consumers get their ranges limited driving electric vehicles, this may completely alter the way we think about buying greener cars. Not only be fit to travel only short. New Topic Oorja could make it possible to take a road trip from the Bay Area to Los Angeles without having to connect and recharge delay.
On 1 methanol cell design provides 4.5 kilowatts of power at an operating cost of $ 0.18 per kilowatt-hour, producing a cost competitive with other energy solutions for automotive, such as lithium-expensive energy of ion battery packs used in most electric vehicles in recent days. The methanol cell vehicles energy can not by itself – but that keeps the batteries charged to ensure that you’re not completely exhausted or overheated. This saves maintenance and replacement costs and can double the overall life of battery packs, said Malhotra.
“Because we are reducing the size of the average power package in half, and increased battery life of two situations, the overall package price of energy could be 15 to 20 per cent reduction than usual” says Malhotra. “If you appear at operating expenses, including upkeep and charging, it might be 30 to 35 percent reduce.” To be clear, is to compare the methods consists of a fuel cell and battery methanol to involve taking only a regular battery pack only.
The new OorjaPac is essentially a tank filled with 11 liters of methanol energy – a widely available source of energy produced from normal gas, landfill gas and waste biomass. When the tank is nearly empty, this can be filled like a normal gasoline tank in minutes. This could spell trouble for companies that work around the issue of promoting EV infrastructure. That the requirements of road charging or battery switching stations if the battery could be developing a position of a fuel cell, even when you keep driving?
When asked why none of their competitors have caught Oorja sophisticated technology, Malhotra claims of two years, the Fremont, California, organization plunged into research on methods of methanol. He noted the increase of energy has to complete with the changes of ownership of the proton exchange membrane contained in the unit. He declined to reveal much more. The start-up founded in 2005, emerged from stealth mode in 2008 with the launch of its OorjaPac, much less efficient first, which is readily available in the market nowadays.
Oorja not go directly to the EV market with both feet. First, try to get its new technology integrated into long-haul trucks in fleets of trucks. Could target companies such as U.S. Postal Service, said Malhotra. Immediately after that, I eye opportunities for their energy in the cells of methanol in the plug-in cars and sports cars, and return a new momentum this year and next.
The company already has a deal with Nissan allowing the automaker to make use of methanol fuel cells to charge the batteries in your warehouse forklifts and other equipment based.