For its one-year anniversary, the ramp-up factory at the California Mobility Center said it has signed a collaborative agreement with the Qatar Mobility Innovations Center based in Doha, Qatar.
This latest international agreement adds to partnerships the Sacramento-based center has already struck with PEM Motion in Aachen, Germany, and several Canadian manufacturers and utilities.
“The memorandum of understanding with the Qatar Mobility Innovations Center is exciting for us because it offers enormous potential for cross-collaboration that can lead to a high-value partnership between two leading innovation institutions in the fields of intelligent mobility and smart cities,” said Arlen Orchard, chairman of the board of the California Mobility Center.
The center offers companies flexible workspace in the ramp-up factory, including access to tools, welding equipment, 40-ton lifts and space to work on prototypes, said Marc Dörfer, chief operating officer with PEM Motion USA Inc. at the mobility center.
The center helps companies to reduce financial risk in their early efforts at prototyping, because they don’t have to buy all the basic tools and equipment, Dörfer said.
“We’re not trying to compete with manufacturers or makerspaces,” he said. “We are trying to fill in gaps.”
One of the early tenants of the center is Minnesota-based electric work-truck chassis builder Zeus Electric Chassis Inc., which unveiled a work truck it completed at the center for the Sacramento Municipal Utility District.
In early 2021, SMUD bought five vehicles for $1.2 million from Zeus, which is based in Chisago City, just north of the Twin Cities.
The formation of the California Mobility Center was initiated in 2019 by SMUD, which made an initial $5 million investment and committed to up to another $10 million in matching funds.
The center now has more than 30 tenants and clients, including Mountain View-based Amply Power, Guelph, Ontario-based manufacturer Linamar Corp. and Oak Park, Michigan-based manufacturer Bollinger Motors Inc.
It also has utility members, including Southern California Edison and Alectra Utilities of Canada.
