Luminar Day recap: Iris+ lidar unveiled, high-volume production and semiconductor business
Global automotive tech company and lidar specialist Luminar Technologies hosted its annual Luminar Day event at its headquarters in Orlando, Florida, today, offering a slew of updates on its progress. This includes new lidar like its Iris+ sensor, a more clear product roadmap bolstered by a new high-volume production facility in North America, and consolidated subsidiaries into a new semiconductor business. Lots to unfold here, so let’s get started.
If you weren’t already aware, Luminar Technologies Inc. ($LAZR) is an automotive component company founded in 2012 that has established itself as one of the industry leaders in lidar and machine perception technology.
We first learned of Luminar’s Iris lidar sensor following a $100 million funding round it received in 2019 before going public via SPAC deal in the summer of 2020. At the time, Luminar’s Iris lidar was being implemented in Volvo Cars vehicles as a prime component in the automaker’s Highway Pilot self-driving feature.
Volvo has continued to expand its relationship with Luminar over the years, showcasing the latter’s lidar sensor technology in its upcoming EX90 SUV – an EV Volvo is already hailing as the safest it has ever produced. Volvo brand Polestar has also tapped Luminar for its EVs beginning with the Polestar 3 SUV.
Just last week, Mercedes-Benz announced an expansion of its existing partnership with Luminar with an investment reportedly in the “multi-billions,” which will enable it to implement Luminar’s next-generation sensor technology, Iris+, into all future Mercedes-Benz models.
During its Luminar Day event held today, the company officially unveiled the long-anticipated Iris+ lidar sensor as well as several other key updates to its business strategy.
Luminar Day filled with several key announcements
Today’s Luminar Day event was so full of news, the company delivered three separate press releases in addition to the live webcast from its Orland HQ you can view in its entirety below. There’s a lot to unfold here, but here are some of the main takeaways from today’s live event which included words from CEOs at Volvo Cars, Daimler Truck, Polestar, and Pony.ai.
First things first. As we hinted at last week, Luminar officially revealed its Iris+ lidar sensor (seen above) and stated it is already demonstrating its capabilities at its new long-range validation facility that is over 300 meters long. To that note, Luminar believes its the largest ranging facility on the planet.
Iris+ offers a slimmer profile for more seamless integration into EV rooflines compared to its predecessor and has already begun shipping to its “lead customer” (Mercedes?). Iris+ is expected to hit series production vehicle integration in 2025.
In addition to Iris+, Luminar Day also introduced a next-generation lidar sensor that will follow in coming years, using technology gained from the January acquisition of data storage solutions provider Seagate. Founder and CEO Austin Russell spoke about the company’s progress during Luminar Day:
We made a big bet early on, and today it’s more clear than ever the industry has aligned to our products and roadmap for enhancing (not replacing) drivers with next-generation safety and autonomy. As of today, Luminar is now planned into over twenty production vehicle models from automakers. At Luminar Day, both our executives and valued partners are all here to show that we’re not only leading in this new era, but also successfully executing our plans across hardware, software, industrialization, commercial partnerships, and beyond.
During Luminar Day, the company relayed is lidar technology is now planned to be implemented in over 20 production vehicles across multiple automakers, expected to garner at least triple-digit revenue growth each year for the next five years.
To support the growing number of automotive partners adapting its technology, the company shared industrialization plans with those partners to initiate its next phase in scaled production. During Luminar Day, the company announced a new dedicated, high-volume manufacturing facility coming to Mexico, expected to begin operations in Q2 of this year. To begin, the facility will perform “rigorous validation” throughout the second half of 2023 to meet automaker’s standards.
Another key announcement during Luminar Day was the establishment of a new unified entity called Luminar Semiconductor. The new in-house semiconductor business is the integration of the company’s three-chip design subsidiaries – Black Forest Engineering, Optogration, and Freedom Photonics. Per the release:
Luminar’s strategy to bring these advanced receiver, laser and processing chip technologies in-house has enabled its unmatched lidar performance while further securing and industrializing the lidar supply chain. The company is leveraging this investment in its high-performance, specialized semiconductors beyond lidar, and Luminar Semiconductor is already powering applications for customers across a broad range of sectors from communications to medical to aerospace.
Here are some other key announcements made during the event today:
- Luminar plans to use all its captured 3D data to serve its AI engine into a robust dataset.
- Scale.ai and Luminar are partnering to “supercharge” the latter’s AI engine to use HD mapping and construct a 3D model in the driveable world. Scale.ai becomes the lidar company’s exclusive provider of data labeling and AI tools.
- Luminar announced a commercial agreement with Pony.ai to utilize the former’s hardware and software in its commercial trucking and robotaxi platforms, targeted for 2025.
- Reinsurance provider Swiss Re and Luminar announce an exclusive partnership to quantify the latter’s on-road safety improvements and their impact on lowering insurance rates for drivers.
Following today’s Luminar Day event, the company said it intends to post its Q4 and full 2022 financial results including a business outlook for 2023 (as if all of today’s news wasn’t enough). You can view today’s webcast in its entirety below.
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British Columbia got its first 400 kW DC fast charger last week at Canadian C-store chain On The Run, but that’s not the good part. As part of a limited time offer, these chargers are FREE!
The Canadian convenience store chain just took the wraps off its new, ABB-developed, 400 kW chargers earlier this month, but they’re already planning to bring the ultra-fast 400 kW dispensers to at least four more locations in BC this spring, and have them online just in time for the summer road trip season – something On The Run hopes its customers will appreciate.
“The A400 charger delivers an enhanced customer experience, with reliability and performance from a 32-inch screen to higher power charging sessions and power sharing,” reads the company’s official announcement, via LinkedIn. “Download the Journie Rewards app to start the charge – free for a limited time.”
On The Run’s new 400 kW ABB DC fast chargers are compatible with CCS and CHAdeMO plugs, and can accommodate Tesla and other NACS-equipped vehicles with an adapter. That said, the company seems to imply that Tesla drivers in particular will have a maximum charging speed of “just” 50 kW, which feel hilarious (given the current state of affairs between Tesla and the Canadian government), but probably isn’t.
In addition to the ABB A400 400 kW units shown here, On The Run locations also employ the ABB Terra 184 dispensers rated at 180 kW. On The Run plans similar deployments at the four BC locations mentioned above, as well as two more each in Quebec and Ontario slated to go live towards the end of this year.
Electrek’s Take
Tesla’s controversial CEO Elon Musk once mocked 350 kW charging speed as being “for a child’s toy,” despite the fact that, nearly nine years later, his own cars and Superchargers can barely make it to 325 kW while others have sailed right on past. I made fun of that fact on the Quick Charge episode shown, above – and, while I do think it’s funny and relevant, the much more relevant piece of news here is that companies like BP Pulse, Revel, and Wallbox are actively deploying 400 kW solutions, today (while others hit the same mark as far back as 2017).
It’s just a fact: Tesla has fallen way behind.
SOURCE | IMAGES: On The Run, via Electric Autonomy.
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Terawatt Infrastructure‘s first medium- and heavy-duty electric charging truck stop in California is now online, in Rancho Dominguez.
Located 12 miles north of the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, the private Rancho Dominguez site, which is shared among multiple fleets, will support electric trucking fleet operations in and out of the largest container ports in the US.
First customers include Dreaded Trucking, Hight Logistics, PepsiCo, Quick Container Drayage, Southern Counties Express, Tradelink Transport, and WestCoast Trucking & Warehousing.
Terawatt’s electric charging truck stop features 20 pull-through and bobtail DC fast charging stalls with a capacity of 7 megawatts (MW), enabling charging for up to 125 trucks per day using a simple reservations system. Terawatt’s site features a proprietary charge management system, in-house technicians, 24/7 customer service, and onsite parts management.
“This launch underscores growing collaboration between enterprises, shippers, carriers, and charging infrastructure providers to advance sustainable technologies across logistics and transportation operations, especially in the medium and heavy-duty sectors,” said Neha Palmer, CEO and cofounder of Terawatt. Palmer added that the company will bring another charging site online in Rialto, California, in June.
Terawatt joined some of the world’s largest shippers and carriers in September 2024 to launch the I-10 Consortium heavy-duty EV operations pilot, the “first-ever US over-the-road electrified corridor.” Terawatt is providing charging infrastructure, including software, operations, and maintenance support at six of its owned charging hubs along the I-10 corridor.
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In its most aggressive attack against offshore wind yet, the Trump administration halted the $5 billion Empire Wind 1, already under construction off New York’s coast.
Norwegian developer Equinor announced yesterday that it received notice from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) ordering Empire Wind 1 to halt all activities on the outer continental shelf until BOEM has completed its review. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum posted this tweet yesterday:
Burgum gave no indication of what insufficiencies there were in the approval process for the fully permitted offshore wind project, despite Trump’s recent declaration of a national energy emergency that speeds up permitting processes.
The commercial lease for the 810-megawatt (MW) Empire Wind 1’s federal offshore wind area was signed in March 2017 during the first Trump administration. It was approved by the Biden administration in November 2023 and began construction in 2024.
The project is being developed under contract with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). Empire Wind 1, which was due to come online in 2027, has the potential to power 500,000 New York homes.
“Halting construction of fully permitted energy projects is the literal opposite of an energy abundance agenda,” said American Clean Power Association CEO Jason Grumet in a statement. “We encourage the administration to quickly address perceived inadequacies in the prior permit approvals so that this project can complete construction and bring much-needed power to the grid.”
As Electrek reported, Equinor secured $3 billion to finance Empire Wind 1 in January. The total amount drawn under the project finance term loan facility as of March 31 was around $1.5 billion.
As of March 31, Empire Wind has a gross book value of around $2.5 billion, including South Brooklyn Marine Terminal (pictured above), which was expected to become the US’s largest dedicated port facility for offshore wind.
In response to BOEM’s stop work order, New York Governor Kathy Hochul issued the following statement:
Every single day, I’m working to make energy more affordable, reliable and abundant in New York and the federal government should be supporting those efforts rather than undermining them. Empire Wind 1 is already employing hundreds of New Yorkers, including 1,000 good-paying union jobs as part of a growing sector that has already spurred significant economic development and private investment throughout the state and beyond.
As Governor, I will not allow this federal overreach to stand. I will fight this every step of the way to protect union jobs, affordable energy and New York’s economic future.
Equinor says it’s considering appealing BOEM’s order.
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