Tufts University Grants Exclusive Commercial Rights to Electric Truck, LLC, for Mileage-Increasing Transportation Technology

GREENWICH, Conn. & BOSTON--Electric Truck, LLC (ET) and Tufts University’s Office for Technology Licensing and Industry Collaboration (OTL&IC) today announced that ET has exclusively optioned commercial rights to a technology that can recharge the batteries of any hybrid electric and electric-powered vehicle while it is driven.

The Tufts-developed technology could increase by 20 to 70 percent the miles per gallon or total driving range performance of vehicles like the Honda Civic, Ford Escape, and Toyota Prius hybrids and the Tesla Motors and Phoenix Motorcars electric vehicles.

This cost-effective invention harnesses the movement of the vehicle to generate electricity that is used to recharge the battery continually while the vehicle is in motion.

Since the technology actively uses the weight of a vehicle for energy recovery, it could help speed the expansion of the hybrid and battery electric vehicle market from cars to vehicles of greater size, weight and payloads, such as SUVs, pickup and delivery trucks, mail trucks, school and city buses and other light and medium duty trucks. Trucks are a large market segment based on commercial need and also represent some of the biggest sources of emissions.

“We are extremely happy with Tufts’ development in this area, and see sales to the fastest growing market segment of hybrid vehicles to be a highly desirable way to contribute toward global climate change mitigation and petroleum independence,” said ET co-founder and CEO David Holst-Grubbe. “This deal puts ET in a unique position to serve high-growth markets with meaningful incremental benefit, without having to re-design existing vehicles.”

Tufts engineering professor emeritus Ronald Goldner and colleague Peter Zerigian developed this technology within the School of Engineering and received additional support in subsequent years from Argonne National Laboratory.

OTL&IC Associate Director Martin Son said, “Prof. Goldner and Mr. Zerigian were passionate about the need to lower greenhouse gas emissions and provide some relief to individuals and industry from the expensive and unpredictable costs of gasoline and diesel fuels. They were innovators who came up with this idea more than a decade ago and were truly ahead of their time."

About Electric Truck, LLC

ET is a privately held licensing and technology development firm headquartered in Greenwich, CT, USA. ET designs, develops, and markets alternative energy technology solutions for the transportation industry, and is seeking a $3 million round of funding, along with sponsors for its Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE entry. The $10 million Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE invites teams from around the world to focus on a single goal: design viable, clean and super-efficient cars that people want to buy.

About Tufts University’s Office for Technology Licensing and Industry Collaboration

Tufts' Office for Technology Licensing and Industry Collaboration (OTL&IC) is responsible for facilitating the transfer of Tufts technology for public use and benefit. OTL&IC evaluates, obtains proprietary protection for, and assists in the distribution of technology for research and commercial purposes. OTL&IC is responsible for transferring technology for commercial development by identifying potential markets and negotiating license agreements with industry partners, from large companies to start-ups.

About Tufts University

Tufts University, located on three Massachusetts campuses in Boston, Medford/Somerville, and Grafton, and in Talloires, France, is recognized among the premier research universities in the United States. Tufts enjoys a global reputation for academic excellence and for the preparation of students as leaders in a wide range of professions. A growing number of innovative teaching and research initiatives span all Tufts campuses, and collaboration among the faculty and students in the undergraduate, graduate and professional programs across the university's schools is widely encouraged.