EcoMotors Raises $32.5M in New Funding

Bill Gates-backed EcoMotors International announced that it has completed its Series C round with a new investment totaling US $32.5 million to advance the development and production of its efficient engines.

Braemar Energy Ventures led the Series C round, with existing investors Bill Gates and Khosla Ventures also participating in the round.

The funding will allow EcoMotors to expand its research and development capability in support of growing the Company’s already robust intellectual property base and moving to the next stage of opoc® diesel engine development with two important customers, Navistar and Zhongding Holding Group. The new capital will also enable EcoMotors to accelerate the creation of gasoline versions of opoc® to meet increasing customer demand for cost effective fuel economy gains in cars, light trucks, hybrids, and extended range EVs.

“We are delighted to welcome Braemar Energy Ventures to the EcoMotors team,” said Don Runkle, EcoMotors’s CEO.  “Braemar’s depth of experience in energy innovation makes them the perfect partner as we embark on a significant phase of development and delivery of our revolutionary opoc® engine technology.”

EcoMotors is developing a multi-fuel family of engines to serve the expanding roster of opoc® customers in both automotive and non-automotive markets. These include diesel versions specifically for GenSet and commercial vehicle applications, gasoline versions, and a CNG version ideally suited to leverage CNG’s fuel cost advantages while negating the traditional CNG issues of reduced power and range, and conversion costs.

The clean, efficient, and elegantly simple Opposed-Piston-Opposed-Cylinder opoc® architecture comprises 60% fewer components and far less mass than conventional engines. The perfectly balanced design means smooth, quiet and virtually vibration-free operation.  The fully modular capability of opoc® enables remarkable efficiency gains – as much as a 50% reduction in both fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.

Menlo Park-based Khosla Ventures was a founding investor in EcoMotors and was joined by Bill Gates, who led the Series B funding round, to continue supporting the company through the Series C funding.