Protean wants to revolutionize electric propulsion with its unique hub-mounted, or in-wheel, electric motors.
Investors from China and Silicon Valley combined Wednesday to raise $84-million for a Detroit-based startup, Protean Electric Inc., which has developed technology to propel cars and trucks using motors mounted directly inside a vehicle’s wheels.
Protean, which bills itself as a clean technology firm, is considered a leader in so-called hub motor electric drive systems and the new capital will be used to bring the company’s technology to production by establishing manufacturing facilities in Liyang, China, executive said.
“With this round of investment in place, Protean Electric is now positioned to move aggressively to production and into the market,” said Bob Purcell, chairman and chief executive officer of Protean Holdings Corp.
The timing could prove particularly significant as the China State Council has just announced plans to promote a rapid expansion in electric and other alternative propulsion systems between now and 2020. Protean hopes its alternative approach to using battery power will give it a leg up on more traditional electric motor suppliers.
“All of our investors believe in our technology and share in our vision to make Protean Electric the world leader for in-wheel electric drive. We will have the capability to directly supply our motors at lower volume levels, while providing licenses to our higher volume customers and partners,” said Purcell, a former General Motors executive who headed up GM’s electric car program in the 1990s.
The money for Protean is coming from GSR Ventures, a venture capital firm based in Beijing and Silicon Valley as well as the New Times Group, a Liyang-based industrial group. Oak Investment Partners of Palo Alto, Calif., one of the initial investors in Protean, is also participating in this round of funding.
“GSR is honored to lead this round of investment in a technology that we believe has great promise for the Chinese automotive market and potentially building a global EV platform,” said Sonny Wu, GSR Ventures managing director.
Wu noted the investment also opens the door for Protean Electric’s entry into China, the world’s largest automobile market. Last year, automobile sales exceeded 18.5 million units in China, where there is also major interest in development of electric vehicles. The new Chinese state plans call for sales of EVs and plug-ins to reach 500,000 by 2015 and surge to 5 million by 2020 – when many analysts believe the overall Chinese auto market will approach 30 million new vehicles annually.
“Liyang is becoming a well-known location for companies at the forefront of cutting-edge technology, especially in new energy, and we are very pleased to welcome Protean Electric to our city to manufacture their in-wheel electric drive system,” said Liyang Mayor Su Jianghua.
Conventional electric vehicles use electric motors in a relatively similar manner to the way gasoline engines are mounted in traditional automobiles, usually with one or two motors placed in a central location, power being directed by a driveshaft or some other means to the wheels.
Protean’s approach makes the motor a part of the wheel itself, potentially reducing weight and lowering frictional losses and other inefficiencies, it claims.
(Ironically, the approach is not entirely new. Legendary sports car designer Ferdinand Porsche used hub motors on the first vehicle he designed more than 100 years ago.)
“There’s tremendous interest around the world in adopting Protean’s in-wheel electric drive systems, which enable breakthrough cost and performance advantages, including high power and torque directly to the wheel as well as integrated power electronics and unparalleled regenerative braking efficiency,” said Bandel Carano, managing partner at Oak Investment Partners.
“China, in particular, presents a compelling near-term opportunity as it seeks to reduce its reliance on petroleum imports. In mature markets, such as North America and Europe, I believe Protean’s electric drive system will be embraced as one solution to help these countries address fuel economy and emissions challenges.”
Purcell said Protean’s technology can be fitted into existing cars and trucks with minimal investment by placing electric motors at each of a vehicle’s four wheels.
“We have a very unique value proposition: We can create hybrid and electric drive vehicle options, on the vehicles that people like to drive,” Purcell said. “We can provide more power, better fuel economy, easier integration and lower cost. The Protean Electric drive system is probably as close as the industry will ever get to a bolt-on solution.”
The advantages include fuel economy improvements of up to 30%, depending on battery size, with the design providing the highest torque density of any of today’s leading electric propulsion systems, Purcell said.
Paul A. Eisenstein contributed to this report.