Can you provide an overview of Electra Vehicles and the decision behind founding the company?
The idea of Electra Vehicles sprouted from a NASA project. I am originally from Italy, but moved to the U.S. 14 years ago to do my Masters and Ph.D. in Battery and Energy Storage at Northeastern University in Boston. I then started working for the Department of Energy, then the Department of Defense, and ultimately NASA, where I was a principal investigator on a team whose goal was to explore the surface of Venus with innovative electric drones. In order to do that successfully, we needed an ideal battery for that extreme environment. The team needed assistance with the battery design, which required the ability to predict failures one year in advance. They also wanted to be able to send firmware updates from Earth to Venus to improve the battery pack’s control strategy and performance over time.
As a result of this project, I saw the need for a software solution able to handle and analyze a significant amount of data coming from the batteries, the vehicle, the driver and the environment. I saw an opportunity to feed all of this data into neural networks using advanced machine learning techniques to come up with the optimal design, analytics and controls of battery packs. This is how Electra was born.
The initial results have been extraordinary. Due to the adaptive control enabled by our solutions, we have shown improvement in various aspects of the performance of batteries – in certain instances increasing driving range by 28%.
Our smart software, EVE-Ai, can also significantly improve the battery’s usable lifetime and has predicted upcoming faults three months in advance. Our solution is a software stack that can be installed into the electrical control unit or the battery management system (BMS) to support battery integrators in getting the most out of the power source.
Today, Electra Vehicles has a team of 50 people globally and we’re growing rapidly in order to meet the industry's needs.
Can you speak to the role and importance of AI in electrification?
Today, the rate, accuracy, and amount of data that can be captured has increased exponentially as compared to five years ago. Machine learning and AI are very beneficial in automating and analyzing huge amounts of data to find optimal solutions faster.
Data is gold. The core component of electrification is the battery, which is approximately 50% of the value of an EV. An EV is basically a battery on wheels. Batteries are sensitive to temperature, how you drive, and peripherals such as air conditioning or weight. Due to this sensitivity, you need to analyze the data accurately to understand how to utilize the battery optimally. With AI and Machine Learning tools at our fingertips, Electra is able to significantly reduce the time required to collect, sort and analyze this data in order to make smarter decisions on how the battery is managed in the vehicle. Electra Vehicles is working with several battery manufacturers in efforts to add an intelligence layer to utilize the batteries as much as possible and as long as possible to be as sustainable as possible.
What is the market appetite to adopt these kinds of technologies?
Everyone is interested in testing electric vehicles, and we have seen that those who have EVs typically will not go back to gas-powered vehicles. Although EVs may be higher in initial costs, they have low carbon emissions and are cheap to recharge as compared to refilling with gas. Building infrastructure including ample charging stations for EVs remains a challenge, but in North America, the situation is improving thanks to the efforts of Tesla, General Motors, and the Electrify America initiative.
Can you highlight some of the key challenges for Electra Vehicles?
It is challenging to find the right talent that has experience in machine learning and AI solutions applied to batteries as it is a brand new field. Electra Vehicles is glad to be supporting Masters and Ph.D. students to attract this level of talent. Another challenge is time to market. We are working to speed up progress by creating partnerships with the right players in the industry who are also highly committed to electrification. We are proud to already have strategic partnerships with the likes of Stellantis and Blackberry, but are open to working with OEMs and tier 1s that want to improve their battery pack performance.
What are Electra Vehicles’ main objectives for the years to come?
Our EVE-AI product is like a powerful brain for batteries and can work with any BMS, electrical control, or battery chemistry. Electra Vehicles recently won a large deal with an automaker, and we are discussing production licenses for other OEMs. We are trying to get our niche software solution to the global market as quickly as possible to increase the performance of batteries, contributing to the sustainability of the battery industry.
