St. Louis startup Intramotev launched with its founders asking themselves a series of questions: What if the railroad system were invented today instead of 200 years ago? How would it look?
Their answer: A rail system more streamlined and environmentally friendly. Intramotev is working to create that vision by developing an autonomous, zero-emissions railcar it says would be able to operate without the use of a locomotive and speed up the process of delivering goods.
The St. Louis-based startup’s co-founders are bullish their rail car technology could help the U.S. make better use of its massive freight rail network and help mitigate the type of supply chain woes currently being experienced across the globe.
“It creates a unique opportunity for autonomy to really help and change the way that logistics system works today,” said Tim Luchini, co-founder and CEO of Intramotev.
Founded in 2020, Intramotev is led by co-founders Luchini, Corey Vasel and Alex Peiffer. It's a founding team that Luchini says offers deep experience in technical and business operations. Luchini and Vasel have both worked for aerospace manufacturer Boeing Co. Peiffer studied rail systems and logistics while earning his master of business administration from the University of Southern California.
Intramotev is currently developing a commercial demonstration unit for its vehicle, called the TugVolt. The startup is a portfolio company of venture studio Idealab NY and snagged funding from venture fund IdeaLabX to advance the development of its vehicle and its rail autonomy software. In addition to IdeaLab, another key partner of Intramotev is Casey Cathcart, a strategic adviser to the startup who is founder and a CEO of Columbus, Ohio-based freight rail firm Cathcart Rail. Locally, Intramotev has been backed by nonprofit Arch Grants, which has awarded it an equity-free $50,000 grant.
While the development and commercialization of autonomous and emission-free cars and trucks has generated significant headlines and financial investment, Luchini said Intramotev believes there’s immense opportunity for similar technology in the rail sector to improve inefficiencies and reduce pollution. For example, Intramotev notes rail cars on average wait 24.6 hours to be picked up from a locomotive, which use upwards of 3.5 billion gallons of diesel fuel each year.
With its technology, Luchini said Intramotev can help "unlock" the full potential of the U.S. rail system to take better advantage of its massive reach and expedite the supply chain process. The U.S. freight rail network spans roughly 140,000 miles, according to the Federal Railroad Administration. That compares to 48,256 miles of interstate highways, according to the American Road and Transportation Builders Association.
Intramotev, which currently has a team of 13, plans to complete its commercial demonstration unit in the second quarter of 2022 and then begin staging pilots to test its railcar. While still building its prototype, Luchini said the company has already garnered interest from customers. The startup has a letter of intent from a customer for a fleet of $30 million worth of its vehicles, Luchini said.
