A company is developing self-propelled, battery-electric railcars you can control with your phone
A young tech company called Intramotev has developed zero-emissions freight mobility solutions that could help significantly decarbonize (and revitalize) a major industry in the US. Following a new $200,000 grant from the state of Michigan, Intramotev looks to deploy three of its self-propelled battery-electric railcars in the state later this year.
Intramotev is a St. Louis-based group founded in 2020 that describes itself as a “high-technology company developing autonomous, zero-emission rail solutions that decrease costs, increase usage and safety, and promote environmental responsibility.”
In a few short years, the company has been able to develop unique freight solutions using software and battery-electric propulsion technology. This includes the TugVolt battery electric railcar (seen above and below), which can decouple from the consist (the group of railcars as a whole) and operate independently for first and last mile legs.
The company has also developed a ReVolt railcar that can be positioned to stay within the train’s consist and capture energy using regenerative braking to reduce diesel consumption from the line’s locomotive. Intramotev CEO Dr. Timothy Luchini described the potential for zero-emissions freight in a video you can also view below:
Technologies are ready to be adopted today and we don’t have to wait for a breakthrough in those technologies to make it happen. We’re integrating it all together into this new innovative platform that gives rail a competetive edge for the next 200 years.
Following a fresh grant from the state of Michigan, Intramotev appears poised to begin deploying its TugVolt electric railcars before the end of 2023.
Intramotev nabs $200k to develop, deliver electric railcars
Intramotev shared details of the grant this morning, which includes $200,000 from Michigan’s Office of Future Mobility and Electrification (OFME). The funding will be used to further develop Intramotev’s TugVolt kit – which can be retrofitted to existing railcars so they become battery-electric and move independently.
Intramotev states that highway freight trucks produce an estimated 433 million tons of carbon emissions annually, while nearly a million freight railcars sit idle every day in switching yards. The company looks to alleviate the congestion and pollution on these roadways by hardening freight shipment certainty through electric performance. All while helping meet the Federal Railroad Administration’s Climate Challenge to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
We’ve covered plenty of emerging electric locomotives in the past, but Intramotev is trying to remove that dependency altogether. Per CEO Timothy Luchini, PhD:
We are excited to partner with Michigan’s Office of Future Mobility and Electrification to usher in a new era of industrial revitalization. Utilizing the most advanced battery-electric technology and other proprietary tools, we look to apply the packetization of the internet model to freight logistics initially on short captive routes and remove the actual distance then rapidly expanding to the full network of 140,000 miles of existing US track without additional infrastructure. We envision a future where freight can move itself without waiting for a locomotive, making the system more efficient and environmentally friendly.
The grant from Michigan’s OFME is expected to help Intramotev deploy three of its TugVolt self-propelled railcars at a mining site in the state’s Upper Peninsula in late 2023. If and when that does happen, the parties state it will be the first deployment of self-propelled, battery-electric railcars for commercial use in a freight rail operation anywhere in the world.
You can learn more about Intramotev and watch the TugVolt get summoned using a smartphone in the video below.
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Environment
Oil prices jump more than 3%, adding to last week’s surge, as Israel strikes Iran energy facilities
Kenworth has announced the addition of Bendix’ Fusion advanced driver assist system (ADAS) to its line of options on the T680 line of Class 8 commercial semi trucks – a lineup that includes the Next Generation T680E battery electric semi truck.
One of the many new trucks revealed at the 2025 ACT Expo in Anaheim, California earlier this year, the Next Generation Kenworth T680E featured the latest advancements in battery-electric technology, an enhanced exterior design, and a suite of new, in-cab technology that extends to the addition of three Bendix Fusion version: ADAS, ADAS PRO, and ADAS PREMIER.
All three of the announced ADAS packages offer updated Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) with ACC Stop and Auto Go™, a new Pedestrian Autonomous Emergency Braking (PAEB) feature, and a new High Beam Assist feature to reduce the likelihood of blinding oncoming drivers supported by the addition of a new forward-looking camera.
Those updates are in addition to the ADAS units Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB), Multi-Lane Autonomous Emergency Braking, Highway Departure Braking (HDB), and Stationary Vehicle Braking (SVB), Lane Departure Warning, and Bendix® Blindspotter® Side Object Detection already available on previous versions of the ADAS-equipped Kenworth.
Kenworth migital mirrors
Now that we’ve got that acronym-loaded word-salad out of the way, we can get to the point: the newest generation of electric trucks is easier and safer to drive – and not just safer for the truck’s operators, but for the people who share the roads with them, too.
Kenworth T680E electric semi
The Next-Generation T680E is available with up to 605 peak hp and 1,850 lb-ft of torque from a PACCAR Integrated ePowertrain fed from a 500 kWh li-ion battery pack good for more than 200 miles of loaded range. The updated Class 8 BEV is rated up to 82,000 lb. gross vehicle weight ratings (GVWR), and can get that load back up to speed quickly with a 350 kW peak charge rate that means the T680E can charge up to 90% in just two hours.
That system isn’t just more efficient than the first generation truck, it’s also more serviceable than it was before.
“This move to a fully integrated and ground-up PACCAR design means we were able to design for enhanced serviceability,” explains Joe Adams, Kenworth’s chief engineer. “Providing easier access to the Master Service Disconnects for improved safety and increased uptime and allowing the use of the DAVIE service tool for troubleshooting and diagnostics.”
The Next Generation Kenworth T680E electric semi truck is designed for short and regional-haul, LTL, and drayage operations. It’s available as a day cab as either a tractor or straight truck in a 6×4 axle configuration.
SOURCE | IMAGES: Kenworth; via Kenworth.
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Just like it says on the tin – retailers are advertising killer deals on the fun-to-drive Kia Niro EV, with one midwest auto dealer reporting more than $10,000 off the sticker price of the Niro EV Wind. That’s nearly 25% off the top line price!
SKIP THE STORY: get straight to the deals.
The Kia Niro EV gets overshadowed by its objectively excellent EV6 and EV9 stablemates – both of which are currently available with substantial lease cash and 0% APR financing, in fact – but that doesn’t mean it’s not an excellent little electric runabout in its own right.
The last time I had a Niro EV tester, my kids loved it, I liked that it was quicker and more tossable than I expected it to be, and my wife liked the fact that “it doesn’t look electric. It looks normal.” And, with well over 200 miles of real world range (EPA-rated range is 253 miles), it was more than up to the task of commuting around Chicago and making the trip up to the Great Wolf Lodge in Gurnee and back without even needing to look for a charger.
It’s not the primary family hauler I’d choose – but as a second car? As a primary car for a slightly smaller family (1-2 kids, instead of 3-4)? The Kia Niro EV Wind, with a $42,470 MSRP, seems like a solid, “can’t go wrong” sort of choice. You know?
You won’t even have to pay that much, though. Raymond Kia in Antioch, Illinois is advertising a $42,470 Niro EV for $32,431 (that’s $10,039, or about 24% off the MSRP), and several others are advertising prices in the $33,000 range.
And, while we’re at it:
Kia Niro EV gallery
SOURCE | IMAGES: CarsDirect, Edmunds, Raymond Kia.
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