Seattle-based Recurrent Motors Inc., which provides diagnostics on the health of electric car battery packs, has joined the Sacramento-based California Mobility Center as a client.
Recurrent, a 2020 startup, uses data science to determine the health of an electric car’s battery pack, which can be the most expensive component on the vehicle.
Unlike a gas engine, the number of miles on the odometer isn’t necessarily the best way to determine the health of a battery pack, Andrew Garberson, head of marketing with Recurrent, told the Business Journal.
Recurrent offers electric vehicle car owners tips on charging techniques and conditions that are best for battery health using the car’s secure connected communications. It also offers potential secondhand car buyers and auto dealers predictions of a car battery pack’s health when buying a used EV.
As a client in the California Mobility Center, the company hopes to make connections in the industry and to be part of the center’s showcases for future transportation technology, Garberson said.
“So much of what is happening in electric vehicles is happening in California,” he said.
The California Mobility Center, a nonprofit public-private partnership, works with leaders in clean transportation technology innovation, with the goal of making the Sacramento region an innovative hub for developing transportation technologies. It offers tenants assistance with manufacturing at a research center and prototype development lab.
The center also assists early-stage startup clients with networking potential and can support their efforts toward commercialization, said Mark Rawson, chief operating officer of the center. The center's board of directors includes executives from major auto suppliers and manufacturers.
After years of development and organizing, the center opened in March 2021 in 25,000 square feet of space at Depot Park in South Sacramento. Its partners include venture capital firm EnerTech, consulting and engineering company PEM Motion and founding partner and funder Sacramento Municipal Utility District, which pledged up to $15 million in matching funds for the center.
The center now has more than 30 tenants and clients, including Minnesota-based electric work-truck chassis builder Zeus Electric Chassis Inc., Mountain View-based Amply Power and Oak Park, Michigan-based manufacturer Bollinger Motors Inc.
It also has utility members, including Southern California Edison and Alectra Utilities of Canada.
The center’s development was championed by SMUD, which has been advocating for electric transportation technologies for more than 20 years. The center has been embraced by local organizations for its potential for workforce development and training and for economic development.
The mobility center is supported by the city of Sacramento, the Greater Sacramento Economic Council, Los Rios Community College District, University of California Davis, California State University Sacramento and the research and advocacy group Valley Vision Inc.
