KLD Neue Electric Scooter First Look

E-165, is achieved via much more impressive 75 lb-ft torque (which, frankly, sounds unbelievable, but that's what it says...)

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John in CR said:

It had my attention until is got to the 288lb weight. AL frame and lithium batts and still that heavy...why?

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Pre-sales for motorcycles using our electric motor system technology will begin in late 2009.

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If you had a new electric motorcycle, which US events would you want to bring it to to promote/demo it for the press and the public?
Maureen Ratel, Marketing at KLD Energy Technologies

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KLD Energy Looks to Raise $10M for Electric Vehicle Tech
By Katie Fehrenbacher at Earth2Tech
Tue Jan 18, 2011
When we first interviewed former Tesla science director and current KLD Energy’s CTO Rob Ferber, he gave us a window into how to break into the electric vehicle market from the perspective of a small startup: basically, focus on China and electric scooters. But that was two years ago, and KLD is now a little bigger. This morning, according to a filing, KLD Energy is looking to raise $10 million in debt and securities, and has closed on a little over $2 million of that round.

The financing isn’t KLD Energy’s first. Last Summer the electric vehicle tech maker raised $4.9 million in equity, and then another $2.8 million in equity and debt earlier this month. KLD also announced a $1 million Series A financing round in 2009, and regulatory filings show a pair of $2 million equity raises during the first few months of 2010.

KLD Energy makes an electric drive system that includes a battery, battery management system, electric motor and motor controller. The company says its technology can give electric two- and three-wheeled vehicles speed and performance capabilities on par with gas-powered counterparts. KLD’s system has no transmission, has high frequency and low RPM, and uses a computerized controller.

Ferber told us last summer that KLD planned to build its business by first deploying its system in electric three-wheelers and scooters internationally (starting in Asia and South America), and targeting the electric scooter market in the U.S. through a deal with Vietnamese scooter manufacturer Sufat (with a starting scooter price of $3,288). KLD Energy offers the technology for licensing, while its subsidiary KLD Motors America manufactures electric motors using a nano-crystalline composite material at a facility in Vinh Phuc, Vietnam.

As we’ve noted before, companies that move early and fast to dominate the EV market in China — which has significant government support on its side and could reach $220 billion by 2030 — could use the country as a springboard for a broader international play.

But remember it’s not exactly easy to be a startup electric scooter maker. The business costs a lot of capital (as you can see by the fund-raising), and it’s a field that has no shortage of casualties (Vectrix closed up shop in 2009 but has more recently emerged). There’s also a lot of competition from players like Brammo, Zero Motorcycles, UltraMotors, Mission Motors, and Vectrix (and that’s only the startups).

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Chinese motorcycle companies are also outsourcing know-how. One example is Zhejiang Qianjiang, who purchased Italy's Benelli in 2009. Producing over a million units annually, it is one of China's top motorcycle/scooter/ATV manufacturers; and has a dedicated advanced electric vehicle division. Texas-based KLD Energy Technologies specializes in advanced electric propulsion and generation systems.

Its August 2011 press release said Qianjiang "will serve as a contract manufacturer for the company and intends to leverage KLD Energy Technologies' electric motor systems". KLD says its motor system, using nano-crystalline composite material, offers increased efficiency over traditional iron-core motors. Qianjiang's other foreign technical partnerships include lithium-ion battery development.

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Austin-based KLD Energy looks to make mark on electric propulsion market

ByAustin Kurth
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF

Published: 6:07 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 11, 2011

When Christian Okonsky founded KLD Energy Technologies Inc. in 2007, his vision for the Austin-based company was to see its electric propulsion systems used around the world.

Little more than four years later, you can find KLD Energy's electric engines powering two-wheeled bikes through the streets of cities in China, Malaysia and other Asian countries.

While there are numerous applications for KLD Energy's products, the two-wheeled bike market is driving the company's growth right now, Okonsky said.

The use of electric motorcycles and electric scooters in the Asia-Pacific market is expected to increase dramatically in the next five years, potentially reaching 22 million by 2017, according to a report by industry research company Pike Research.

The affordability of these vehicles — combined with a ban on combustion engine two-wheeled vehicles in 90 cities across China — have made them a promising market for KLD, company officials say.

"We are focused on the two-wheeled bike market because there is more opportunity for growth," Okonsky said.

The company has 50 employees, most of whom work at one of their two facilities in Austin. KLD declined to provide revenue figures, but it has raised more than $25 million in capital investment since 2007.

Generally speaking, an electric, two-wheeled vehicle is more expensive upfront, but it costs less over the life of the vehicle, Okonsky said. Gas will run the consumer almost $2,000 a year versus $700 a year in higher electricity costs, he said.

In Malaysia, KLD estimates that a new manufacturing deal will mean that 40,000 vehicles using the company's technology will hit the market next year.

Despite its focus on electric scooters and motorcycles, KLD is first and foremost a technology company, Okonsky said.

It is not unusual for companies to purchase products from various sources and integrate them into a single unit, but Julian Partridge, vice president of technology integration at KLD, said the company has moved that concept forward with its complete system design of a battery, controller and motor. That allows the engineers at KLD to better optimize the performance of the vehicles, Partridge said.

"The electric motor has been improved upon incrementally over the years, but what we have done is completely redesign it," Partridge said.

One of KLD's key innovations, company officials said, is its battery, which resembles a shoebox filled with cells that look like larger versions of AA batteries.

If one of the cells within the battery were to fail, the bike would run at a reduced rate until the single cell could be inexpensively replaced.

By contrast, a standard car battery would cease working at the failure of a single cell and cost more to replace.

With its array of products and potential applications, Okonsky said KLD is "focused on energy for the next generation" as it aims to move from startup to industry leader.

"In five years it's my goal to leave a meeting in New York City on an elevator using one of our systems, to get in a cab that says 'powered by KLD,' that takes me to a KLD factory," Okonsky said.

akurth@statesman.com; 445-3766

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Vmoto has has reached an agreement with KLD Energy Technologies to use its new system,

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