eResearch | Exro Technologies Inc. (CSE: XRO) is a Vancouver-based Clean Tech company that has developed an advanced motor control technology, which expands the capabilities of electric motors and powertrains. The Company has been granted 17 world-wide patents for its technology, and has an additional 18 patents pending.
Exro announced on July 10 that it closed an oversubscribed $8 million financing led by Gravitas Securities.
The Company told eResearch that the net proceeds from the offering would be used for “further research and development of the Company’s intelligent battery management system, micro, light and commercial electric vehicle programs, marketing, capital investments and general working capital requirements.”
Exro’s patented “Coil Driver” technology enables two separate torque profiles within a motor, one profile for low speed & high torque and another profile for high speed & low torque, and allows for automatic selection of the appropriate configuration in real time, so that torque demand and efficiency are optimized, resulting in higher energy efficiency.
Following the closing of this financing, on July 15, Exro announced it had signed a new partnership with Australian commercial vehicle electrification company SEA Electric, in which the two companies will co-develop and test electric powertrain technology for commercial trucks and delivery vehicles.
Exro’s Coil Driver technology enables 2 separate torque profiles within a given motor: one profile for low speed & high torque and another profile for high speed & low torque. The Coil Driver automatically and seamlessly switches between configurations to ensure the highest possible efficiency at a given operating point.
Source: Exro Technologies (2020)
Securing New Partnerships
Exro’s current growth strategy is focused on what it calls its “Partner Development Phase”, in which it seeks to secure strategic partnerships with leading innovative electric mobility companies, in order to test and prove the effectiveness of its technology. Longer-term, Exro plans to license out its Coil Driver technology to major power electronic manufacturers and/or automakers for a fee.
Aside from SEA Electric, Exro has already secured six other co-development projects, in order to reach the commercialization stage. partners include: Motorino Electric, a Vancouver-based electric bike company; Zero Motorcycles, a California-based electric powered motorcycle manufacturer; Aurora Powertrains, a Finland-based snowmobile powertrain manufacturer; Potencia Industrial, a Mexico-based electric motor designer and manufacturer; and Clean Seed Capital Group (TSXV: CSX), a B.C.- based intelligent heavy farm equipment manufacturer.
Exro has secured partnerships with electric mobility companies spanning bicycles, motorcycles, snowmobiles, automobiles, and agricultural vehicles. In addition, Exro recently secured a partnership with Sea Electric, an Australian company that specializes in the electrification of heavy-duty commercial vehicles.
Source: Exro Technologies (2020)
Future Outlook: Reaching Revenue Generation
The Company has previously stated it is on track to secure 8 strategic partnerships by the end of 2020, with successful results from current proof of concept testing expected to lead to long-term licensing agreements.
According to Exro, results so far have been positive: after delivering the first Exro-powered e-bike to Motorino in December 2019, the Company says the Coil Driver technology provided an increase of more than 25% in both torque and acceleration.
As a result of its current strategic partnerships, which allow Exro to expand its footprint into new global regions and work with world-leading OEMs, the Company expects it will begin to see revenue generation in the early part of 2021, and anticipates it will be EBITDA positive by 2023. Following this latest cash injection the Company should be well capitalized for its planned growth initiatives.
