Rockwell Automation buys equity stake in Infinitum Electric; Existing investors Cottonwood Technology Fund, Chevron Technology Ventures and Ajax Strategies participate in round
AUSTIN, Texas – Infinitum Electric, creator of the breakthrough air-core motor, today announced $40 million in Series C funding to scale production of its ultra-high-efficiency, lightweight motors. The investment will be used to expand production of the company’s IEs Series motors for commercial and industrial applications and complete development of its IEm Series motors for the rapidly growing electric vehicle market.
Energy Innovation Capital led the round with Infinitum Electric’s existing investors Cottonwood Technology Fund, Chevron Technology Ventures and Ajax Strategies participating. Rockwell Automation also purchased an equity stake in Infinitum Electric, bringing the company’s total funding to date to $55 million.
Motors consume more than half the world’s electricity, but have largely remained unchanged over the last 100 years. Infinitum Electric’s reinvented motors use lightweight materials and modular design to generate the same power in half the size and weight, at a fraction of the carbon footprint of conventional motors. After being introduced in 2020, the company’s motors have quickly gained traction among leading commercial HVAC, industrial, and automotive suppliers developing new products with environmental sustainability, efficiency and serviceability in mind.
“Infinitum Electric’s innovative technology approach and pragmatic design has resulted in a motor made for the next 100 years,” said Kevin Skillern, managing partner of Energy Innovation Capital. “Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) is an important business driver. As the world adds 800 million motors annually, Infinitum Electric is positioned to make machines we rely on more sustainable. We’re excited to welcome Infinitum Electric to our portfolio of companies addressing the world’s biggest energy challenges and look forward to working with the company’s incredibly talented team of industry experts.”
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“Infinitum Electric addresses the entire lifecycle of the combined motor and variable frequency drive – from its materials, to how it’s tested, produced, transported, assembled, used, and maintained – and we see this work as a natural extension of our growing business helping our customers to be more productive and sustainable,” said Bob Buttermore, vice president and general manager of Rockwell Automation’s Power Control business. “Their motor and variable frequency drive packaged solution offers superior performance and efficiency, while emphasizing usability, which is a key differentiator.”
“We’re excited to ramp production of our motors after seeing significant demand in the commercial HVAC and industrial markets, as well as the growing interest from electric vehicle suppliers who see the potential a highly efficient, lightweight motor can deliver,” said Ben Schuler, founder and CEO of Infinitum Electric. “Partnering with Energy Innovation Capital, Rockwell Automation and our existing investors allows us to scale and power machines more efficiently and sustainably.”
As the energy use for heating and cooling buildings is likely to increase following CDC guidelines to increase outdoor air ventilation and run HVAC systems longer, more efficient motors are in demand. In response to a Request for Information seeking resource-efficient technologies that can improve building health and resilience, the U.S. General Services Administration’s (GSA) Green Proving Ground (GPG) program, in association with the Department of Energy (DOE), recently selected Infinitum Electric motors for evaluation in GSA facilities. GSA is testing the performance of Infinitum Electric motors for HVAC systems in both a federally-owned building and a private commercial building with the goal of reducing costs for heating and cooling.
Infinitum Electric’s motor design replaces the copper wire and laminated iron core found in conventional motors with a printed circuit board stator, making the motor smaller, lighter and more efficient. Infinitum Electric motors are 10 percent more efficient, 50 percent lighter and smaller, and significantly quieter than conventional motors. Infinitum Electric motors offer a fully integrated system: motor, variable frequency drive (VFD) and embedded IoT in a single compact package.
