US hybrid conversion company raises $2 million
07 January 2011
Boston Globe. XL Hybrids, a startup that offers a hybrid conversion system for large fleet vehicles such as vans or Lincoln Town Cars, has raised $2 million in new funding and signed an agreement with Ashwoods Automotive in the UK, the producers of the retrofit kit. (Earlier post.)
Hynes, the president of Somerville-based XL Hybrids Inc., says the company is focused on retrofitting vehicles for customers who “drive a lot of miles in low mile-per-gallon vehicles.” He says that the company’s pilot vehicles have been demonstrating a 10 to 15 percent savings in fuel costs, and that the first commercially-retrofitted cars — they’ll mainly be Lincoln Town Cars — will save owners 20 to 30 percent a year.
Ashwoods has been retrofitting Ford vans in Europe with its system. XL has adapted Ashwoods’ kit for use in sedans that will travel US roads, with light-duty vans to follow soon. XL had previously raised $1.8 million in convertible debt from angel investors.
The Ashwoods Hybrid Drive consists of two main components: an electric motor/ generator that drives the rear axle and the Intelligent Power Pack Module (IPPM). The IPPM contains the battery (Lithium iron phosphate), the Ashwoods hybrid control unit (HCU), the Motor Controller plus all power electronics and controls.
We could have conversions in the U.S. but getting investment money is very difficult. $2 million would keep the lights on in a company for a few months. We will need much more than this to make progress.
Posted by: SJC | 08 January 2011 at 11:11 AM