It takes too long to charge Lithium-ion batteries. Even though there has been remarkable innovations in our battery powered devices, the way we charge has barely advanced. Charging methods damage batteries even at a slow pace and are unsafe at higher rates. As a result manufacturers carefully control charging speeds. Consumers are stuck waiting more than 2 hours to charge mobile devices and several hours to charge electric vehicles… until Evgentech that is.
Evgentech’s unique patent pending and pulse charging technology provides a kinder and gentler charge. This results by leveraging the battery’s chemical behavior, not working against battery chemistry as do existing processes. Evgentech allows faster charging without damage or compromising safety. Testing shows that an iPhone can be charged to full capacity in a little as a ½ hour and the time it takes to charge a Tesla Model S could be reduced to about 40 minutes, or even shorter.
We connected with Jackie Hutter, CEO & IP Strategist at Evgentech to get more of the story.
Year/Date Founded?
2011
Number of Employees?
CEO, 2 PhD scientists and 2 product development consultants, all of whom work on a part-time basis
Founders/Execs?
Founded by “hackers”/currently managed by CEO & IP Strategist Jackie Hutter, MS, JD with technical support from 2 PhD scientists/inventors.
Funding or bootstrapped? (if funded, what is your funding history?)
Our “hacker” founders obtained $140K from friends and family early on. When professional management took over in early 2012, Atlanta Technology Angels provided $27K for testing of an early stage prototype. In 2013-2014, insiders provided $30K of funding to conduct further testing. We have recently obtained at loan from the Greenhouse Accelerator for $29K, which will be matched, in part, by funds from the State of Georgia Department of Economic Development. These funds will be used to conduct extensive validation testing at Georgia Tech with Dr. Paul Kohl. All funding since 2011 has been used for testing, with all other operations, including filing of a comprehensive patent application, bootstrapped by management.
What problem are you solving?
The well-characterized pain caused from slow Li-ion battery charging speeds, as well as the damaging effects of conventional charging processes that cause batteries to fail over time.
Describe the market/industry/environmental impact:
The market is all potential uses of Li-ion batteries, both today an in the future. Our current plan is to start with the smaller market of RC vehicle chargers upon completion of testing at Georgia Tech because customer discovery demonstrates that these users have a compelling need for faster Li-ion charging that is safer and less damaging than existing methods used today. As we tackle that market, we will also be looking to partner with mobile device manufacturers, and we are already in conversations with notable companies in these markets. While electric vehicles certainly need faster and less damaging charging, players in this market tend not to be early adopters, and we expect that it will be a longer term prospect to get our technology into automobiles.
Evgentech potentially provides remarkable environmental impact: if Li-ion battery charging speed can be improved and battery life can be lengthened, applications for battery charging can be magnified, especially in the EV space.
Check back soon for part 2 to learn about their revenue model, inspiration, competition, and more!
EvGentech from Greenshortz on Vimeo.
