By Ginny Kropf, Correspondent Posted on April 22, 2023 at 3:56 pm
Photo provided: Medina native Colin Huwyler poses with the Vector system he developed that allows large vehicles to burn biodiesel fuel, making them 90 percent carbon-free. Optimus Technologies, is in Pittsburgh. Two years ago, the company received a $1 million grant from NYSERDA to open a plant in the Southern Tier, and this week Huwyler announced a $17.8 million Series A funding round.
Pittsburgh-based Optimus Technologies, a company founded by Medina native Colin Huwyler to decarbonize the transportation industry’s largest and most challenging sectors, has announced a $17.8 million Series A funding round led by Mitsui and Company of Tokyo.
The round included participation from one of North America’s largest commercial fleets, Chevron Renewable Energy Group, and regional Pittsburgh investors including Idea Foundry, Innovation Works, Richard King Mellon Foundation and Pittsburgh Urban Redevelopment Authority.
Colin, a 2002 graduate of Medina High School and son of Monty Huwyler and Bobbi Huwyler, both of Medina, first became interested in biodiesel as a teenager at Medina High School. His parents went to Canada to buy him a diesel car, as they were not sold in the United States. Using fryer oil he collected locally, he converted Volkswagen diesel to burn fryer oil using the vector system he developed.
After high school, Huwyler attended the University at Buffalo for a semester, then formed Optimus Technologies in Harrisburg, Pa., of which he is now CEO. The company is now headquartered in Pittsburgh and has become a leader in the field of biodiesel technology.
Two years ago, NYSERDA awarded it a $1 million grant to open a plant in the Southern Tier.
His latest award will fund further development of Optimus’ Vector system, an advanced fuel system technology that enables heavy-duty diesel engines to run on 100% biodiesel, a near-zero carbon biogenic fuel. The heavy transport sectors are extremely difficult and expensive to deploy electric or hydrogen solutions that require the total replacement of existing assets, the construction of completely new infrastructure and a fundamental shift in global energy production towards renewables , Huwyler explained in a press release this week.
Conversely, Optimus Technologies’ Vector system integrates seamlessly into existing engines currently in operation, or can be incorporated into new engines as they are manufactured, leveraging the diesel engine critical to the transition to a low-carbon future.
Huwyler founded Optimus Technologies in 2010 with a mission to combat global climate change by developing solutions to decarbonize the largest and most challenging industrial and transportation sectors. It commercially launched the Vector system in 2018. Since then, the company has deployed the technology with leading commercial fleets, including ADM, and public fleets such as Washington, DC and the City of Madison, Wisconsin, accumulating millions of miles of operations with success.
“We’ve sold my technology to cities all over the United States,” Colin told his mother Bobbi today. “We are now expanding into Japan. We are excited to announce this new partnership with Mitsui and deepen our existing relationship with Chevron Renewable Energy Group. This strategic investment allows us to accelerate our mission to decarbonize the transportation sector. More importantly, this funding allows Optimus to immediately scale the delivery of carbon reductions at a time when emissions elimination cannot come soon enough.”
Bobbi said Optimus plans to hire an additional 24 experts at its Pittsburgh location in the biodiesel field.
“Mitsui and Company will contribute to the development of economies and societies in many countries around the world and provide practical solutions to the global challenges we face, such as climate change mitigation and adaptation through our global business activities and far-reaching”. said Hirohide Yoshida, general manager of Mitsui and Company’s construction and transportation vehicle solutions division. “Optimus’ Vector system technology is an innovative and practical solution for reducing carbon emissions in transportation and heavy-duty diesel operations.”
The collaboration between Optimus Technologies and Mitsui will not only accelerate the deployment of Optimus in North America, but also enable expansion into several strategic international markets, according to the press release.
Optimus Technologies’ unique approach to reducing carbon emissions applies to a wide range of industries, from long-haul trucking to marine and rail. The Vector system allows customers to reduce their carbon emissions by more than 90% with a cost-effective solution that leverages existing assets and infrastructure to reduce current emissions. With this new funding, Optimus will dramatically expand its team in Pittsburgh and increase production of the Vector system to meet the growing global decarbonization demands of fleets and governments.
