Intramotev, a St. Louis-based startup developing an autonomous, zero-emissions railcar, later this year plans to deliver its first railcars to a customer.
A mining facility located in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan will be the first site to use Intramotev’s railcar technology, beginning in late 2023, the startup said. Intramotev shared details of its first customer delivery as it announced it has received a $200,000 grant from the state of Michigan’s Office of Future Mobility and Electrification to assist with deploying its railcars at the mining site. Intramotev CEO Tim Luchini declined to name the customer who will use its railcars at the mining site.
The $200,000 grant will be used to help with launching three of Intramotev’s self-driving railcars at the mining facility. Luchini said the funding will help offset costs associated with implementing Intramotev’s railcars at the mining facility.
“It is really important for us to have some of these resources available at the state and federal level to help deploy these vehicles,” he said.
Founded in 2020, Intramotev has developed an autonomous, zero-emissions railcar, called the TugVolt, that it says can operate without the use of a locomotive and will speed up the process of delivering goods. Its use at the Michigan mining site will be “the world's first deployment of self-propelled, battery-electric railcars for commercial use in a freight rail operation,” Intramotev claims.
Intramotev has positioned its TugVolt 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 railcars 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. While Intramotev harbors ambitions to revolutionize the broader U.S. rail industry with its technology, Luchini said the startup’s initial focus involves having customers first use its railcars on confined routes located at industrial facilities, including mining sites, manufacturing plants and ports.
At the Michigan mining site, Intramotev said its three TugVolt railcars there will be existing railcars that have been renovated to include its autonomous, battery-electric technology and that they will propel a six-car train that also includes three traditional railcars. The state of Michigan said in a news release that implementation of Intramotev’s technology will cut 55,000 gallons of diesel usage and 617 tons of vehicle-level carbon dioxide emissions at the mining facility.
"The U.S.'s rail lines represent one the country's original foundations of mobility and prosperity, and now we have an opportunity to future-proof these lines, starting in Michigan," Kathryn Snorrason, Michigan’s interim chief mobility officer, said in a statement. "We look forward to supporting Intramotev's deployment of its innovative railcars, which will not only serve to further expand Michigan's growing EV ecosystem, but will help revolutionize our supply chains and create a more sustainable mobility future."
In addition to its TugVolt railcar, Intramotev is developing other rail-focused autonomous products, including a regenerative energy braking system for traditional trains, called ReVolt, and automated gates and hatches.
Intramotev operates its headquarters at 4350 Semple Ave. in North City, with its facility including private railroad tracks that can be used to test its railcars. The startup has been backed by several investors, including IdeaLabX, IdeaLab NY and Cantos. Locally, Intramotev has been supported by nonprofit Arch Grants, which awarded it a $50,000 grant in 2021.
