A St. Louis startup developing an autonomous, zero-emissions railcar has expanded into a new headquarters locally, a move that comes as it prepares to deliver its first units to customers next year.
The startup, Intramotev Inc., has moved into a new headquarters at 4350 Semple Ave. in North City. Its new 20,000-square-foot facility is part of the former campus of Swiss manufacturer ABB, which in 2017 announced plans to stop production at its St. Louis facility. The Semple Avenue site is owned by Zelck Creek Properties LLC, whose registered agent is Nicholas Schopp, according to city and state records.
Founded in 2020, Intramotev is developing an autonomous, zero-emissions railcar it says would operate without the use of a locomotive and will speed up the process of delivering goods. Intramotev, named among St. Louis Inno's 2022 Startups to Watch earlier this year, is led by co-founders Tim Luchini, Corey Vasel and Alex Peiffer.
With its new headquarters, Intramotev has expanded its footprint by nearly tenfold. It had been operating out of a roughy 2,200-square-foot facility in Metro East. Luchini, the startup’s CEO, said Intramotev will continue to use the Metro East facility to test its railcars.
“We’re excited to be located in St. Louis. It’s been a really positive place to be located at,” said Luchini. “I think we’re bringing a different technology stack to an area that traditionally might not have a startup like this locating in this region, which has brought in a lot in access to talent and a lot of excited individuals around what we’re building and people who want to be a part of what we’re doing.”
As its new facility in North City, Intramotev has access to several key components it can use to assemble and test its railcars, namely private railroad tracks. The headquarters includes about 400 feet of indoor rail and 1,000-plus feet outside of private rail track. The facility includes several cranes as well as office space, Luchini said. It also has the ability to increase its footprint in the future at its new facility, with Luchini saying the company’s lease includes an option to double its footprint there.
Intramotev co-founder and Chief Operating Officer Alex Peiffer shared the following post on LinkedIn, including a video that gives a glimpse of the startup's next headquarters in North City.
Intramotev recently completed its commercial demonstration unit of its railcar and plans to deliver its first railcars to customers in the second quarter of 2023.
“We’ve been executing to our plan, hitting the milestones as we’ve been going,” Luchini said.
Intramotev has positioned its autonomous, locomotive-free railcar as having the potential to make the U.S. rail system more efficient and sustainable while also expediting the supply chain process. For example, Intramotev has noted rail cars on average wait 24.6 hours to be picked up from a locomotive, which use upward of 3.5 billion gallons of diesel fuel each year.
As it works toward producing its first commercial railcars, Intramotev has expanded its team, growing to about 20 employees. The startup has been backed by several investors, including IdeaLabX, IdeaLab NY and Cantos. Locally, it has been supported by nonprofit Arch Grants, which awarded it a $50,000 grant in 2021.
