Fort Worth startup Linear Labs raises $6 million to help it build a better motor

[TruckElectric]

Three articles from different sources.

Fort Worth is about 195 miles North of Austin.


It’ll use the money to expand its manufacturing and engineering expertise.

Linear Labs says its electric motor produces twice the torque of competing motors.(Linear Labs)
By Paul O'Donnell
12:05 PM on Oct 13, 2020

Fort Worth startup Linear Labs has raised $6 million in new funding in its quest to build a better motor.
The investment follows Linear Labs' recent $68.9 million incentive deal with Fort Worth to develop a 500,000-square-foot manufacturing facility employing 1,200 people within a decade. The company said the new capital will help it expand its production capabilities and add employees.

Linear Labs created the Hunstable Electric Turbine, an electric motor that operates more efficiently, costs less to manufacture and can be used in cars, scooters, robotics, wind turbines and more. It’s named after the company’s founders, Brad Hunstable and his father, Fred.

The company said it has signed deals to produce 100,000 motors next year and set an ambitious goal of 1 million the following year.

“The success of our most recent funding round is a testament to our superior technology and the versatility of its uses — from more efficient industrial applications and pumps to increased range of mobility applications to more sustainable air conditioners,” co-founder and CEO Brad Hunstable said in a statement.

Linear Labs said its patented technology produces up to twice the torque of competing motors and can be made using rare-earth or ferrite magnets. The internet-connected motors also are integrated with machine learning intelligence software.

Investors in the funding round include Champion Hill, Chris and Crystal Sacca’s Lowercarbon Capital, Kindred Ventures, Gen Fukunaga, Duke Angel Network, Spike Ventures and Moving Capital — an Uber-alumni investing syndicate.

The company also added Chris MacFarland, CEO of Plano-based software-defined networking company Masergy, to its board of directors.

“I can see that Linear Labs is going to effect change on an international scale in multiple industries,” MacFarland said in a statement. “Amazing things are just around the corner.”

SOURCE: Dallas Morning News

Linear Labs CEO

Smarter energy company Linear Labs has raised an additional $6 million in funding to further develop manufacturing capabilities and grow its employee base, the company announced Oct. 13.

The new capital comes shortly after Linear Labs’ $68.9 million partnership with the City of Fort Worth, Texas, was announced, which includes an incentive package involving Linear Labs’ plans to develop an advanced manufacturing facility and support thousands of new, skilled jobs over the next 10 years.

The new round was closed with participation from new and existing investors including Champion Hill, Chris and Crystal Sacca’s Lowercarbon Capital, Kindred Ventures, Gen Fukunaga, Duke Angel Network, Spike Ventures, and also Moving Capital – an Uber-alumni investing syndicate, Linear Labs said in a news release.

The com[any said the funding will be used to expand manufacturing expertise, supply chain infrastructure and logistics, as well as advanced automation and robotics engineering, in order to meet the current signed customer needs of producing 100,000 units in 2021 with a target of 1,000,000 units the following year.

Clients for these motors include global OEMs in automotive, micro-mobility, industrial pump and applications, as well as residential and light commercial HVAC.

“The success of our most recent funding round is a testament to our superior technology and the versatility of its uses – from more efficient industrial applications and pumps to increased range of mobility applications to more sustainable air conditioners,” said Brad Hunstable, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Linear Labs. “Our mission is resonating not only with the best minds in Silicon Valley, but also the growing technology hub that is the Fort Worth area. We’re making a global impact through smarter utilization of energy as we enter the beginning of Energy 2.0, with a motor that is as big a breakthrough in energy as any major battery breakthrough.”

Additionally, Linear Labs has expanded the board of directors to include Chris MacFarland, chairman and CEO of Texas-based Masergy, a software-defined cloud platform leader.

“I can see that Linear Labs is going to effect change on an international scale in multiple industries,” said MacFarland. “The company is getting bigger by the moment, and to join their board just as their new funding is secured and their deal with Fort Worth is announced, is fortuitous timing.”

The patented HET motor technology from Linear Labs is an entirely new class of electric machine, producing up to twice the torque of competitor motors – or the same torque in half the size – and can also be made using rare-earth or ferrite magnets.

For more information: www.linearlabsinc.com

Source: FortWorthBusiness.com


Further Develop Its Smart Motor Manufacturing Capabilities and Employee Base
The investment follows a $68.9 million incentive package Linear Labs closed with the City of Fort Worth in June. In addition to the funding, Linear Labs has added Masergy Chairman and CEO Chris MacFarland to its Board of Directors.

Linear Labs' electric motor was invented by Brad Hunstable and his father, Fred, while they were working to design a device that could pump clean water and provide power for small communities in underdeveloped regions. [Photo: Courtesy Linear Labs]
BY ALEX EDWARDS • OCT 13, 2020

Fort Worth-headquartered smart electric motor company Linear Labs is expanding its manufacturing capabilities and employee base through a new $6 million round of funding.

The additional capital follows the official start of a public/private partnership between and the city of Fort Worth, which was approved in June. The agreement included an economic incentive package worth up to $68.9 million to create a smart electric motor manufacturing facility with advanced automation and a research and development facility in Fort Worth.

That deal is predicted to stimulate enormous tech growth in the city, and beyond—Linear Labs expects to support thousands of new skilled jobs over the next decade.

“We see Fort Worth as the burgeoning global hub of Electrification 2.0,” Brad Hunstable, co-founder and CEO of Linear Labs, previously told us. “There is a world-class talent pool as well as globally ranked universities in the area. As a Fort Worth local, I see an immense opportunity to spur innovation and economic development in an effort to co-shape a prosperous future for our city.”

Linear Labs’ newest round had participation from both new and existing investors, including Champion Hill, Chris and Crystal Sacca’s Lowercarbon Capital, Kindred Ventures, Gen Fukunaga, Duke Angel Network, Spike Ventures, and Moving Capital.

The funding will mainly go to bolstering the company’s manufacturing expertise, supply chain infrastructure and logistics, and advanced automation and robotics engineering, according to a statement.

The expansion efforts are necessary for Linear Labs to meet its signed customer needs of producing 100,000 units in 2021 and an anticipated 1,000,000 units in 2022. The team said that its current clients for the electric motors include global original equipment manufacturers in the automotive, micro-mobility, industrial pump and applications, residential, and light commercial HVAC space.

Linear Labs manufactures the revolutionary patented Hunstable Electric Turbine (HET), an “entirely new class of electric machine.”

The high torque electric motors and generator products have been lauded as a game changer for mobility, industrial, HVAC, and robotic applications.

[Photo: Courtesy Linear Labs]

The HET offers high-performance power that is said to produce twice the torque of its competitors, or the same torque in half the size. It doesn’t require rare-earth magnets to produce higher efficiency and greater average torque over the full speed range compared to the best performing motors today, either. Instead, the company uses more affordable ferrite magnets.

The design also features a breakthrough magnetic flux tunnel that has a dual axial flux and dual radial flux rotors tied together around one stator. This means it is “effectively four motors working as one,” Linear Labs says.

Another benefit, which was announced in March, is the motor’s supply chain independence. All the raw materials and components needed for HET manufacturing are accessible locally and are available around the globe, creating a regionally agnostic supply chain.

Overall, Linear Labs has a strong portfolio of patents with 21 issued and 29 pending globally. The next phase of production will include the company’s 200 series motor.

Hunstable expects the motors to be as big of a breakthrough in energy as any major battery was.

“The success of our most recent funding round is a testament to our superior technology and the versatility of its uses—from more efficient industrial applications and pumps to increased range of mobility applications to more sustainable air conditioners,” he said. “Our mission is resonating not only with the best minds in Silicon Valley, but also the growing technology hub that is the Fort Worth area.”

In addition to the funding, Linear Labs expanded its Board of Directors, adding Masergy Chairman and CEO Chris MacFarland to the team.

MacFarland, a known cloud platform leader, sees Linear Labs as effecting change on an international scale in multiple industries.

“The company is getting bigger by the moment, and to join their board just as their new funding is secured and their deal with Fort Worth is announced, is fortuitous timing,” he said in a statement. “Amazing things are just around the corner, including incredible economic possibilities with Linear Labs’ new U.S. production facilities.

• 
  It’s Official: Fort Worth Approves Linear Labs' Public/Private Partnership (and Nearly $70M in Incentives) to Stimulate Tech Growth in Texas
  Smart motor maker Linear Labs, founded in 2014, plans a new advanced manufacturing and research headquarters that can support thousands of jobs over the next decade. The partnership aims to further Fort Worth as “the next tech innovation hub."
• 
  Plug-and-Play Power: Fort Worth Tech Manufacturer Expands Production of Smart Electric Motors for e-Mobility
  The technological advancement of these motors has "as big of an impact on minimizing global energy consumption as any major battery breakthrough could have," says Linear Labs' VP of Technology. Four M200 motors in a four-wheeled vehicle "can provide more peak torque than a 2020 Porsche 911 Carrera S engine."
  
  
  SOURCE: Dallas Innovates
  
  

 

[Mini2nut]

If the motor technology pans out this should be huge. A more powerful and efficient electric motor will be a game changer.

 

[TruckElectric]

If the motor technology pans out this should be huge. A more powerful and efficient electric motor will be a game changer.

The acceleration of change in the world of EV's is nothing short of astounding. Battery, electric motor, and power electronics technology are truly advancing at an astonishing pace. Just the next 5 years should be interesting at this rate.

 

[Mini2nut]

“Linear Labs created the Hunstable Electric Turbine, an electric motor that operates more efficiently, costs less to manufacture and can be used in cars, scooters, robotics, wind turbines and more. It’s named after the company’s founders, Brad Hunstable and his father, Fred.“


I agree. Another future IPO? The BEV market will see a big change by 2025. Newer motors with higher torque and efficiency, solid state batteries(?), better circuit boards, improved autopilot software, etc. Just think where we would be right now if electric cars took off instead of fossil fueled vehicles well over 100 years ago. I truly feel we are seeing the tip of the iceberg with BEV’s.

 

[FutureBoy]

“Linear Labs created the Hunstable Electric Turbine, an electric motor that operates more efficiently, costs less to manufacture and can be used in cars, scooters, robotics, wind turbines and more. It’s named after the company’s founders, Brad Hunstable and his father, Fred.“


I agree. Another future IPO? The BEV market will see a big change by 2025. Newer motors with higher torque and efficiency, solid state batteries(?), better circuit boards, improved autopilot software, etc. Just think where we would be right now if electric cars took off instead of fossil fueled vehicles well over 100 years ago. I truly feel we are seeing the tip of the iceberg with BEV’s.

I agree that the next years are going to be astounding in regards to electricity based transport. Not just cars.

But I’m not in agreement about the 100 years ago. 100 years ago there was just some basic research that hadn’t been done yet that is prerequisite to much of the recent progress being made. There is just no way back then that vehicles could have supported the kind of changes and growth that we saw with ICE vehicles. Just think how much lead would have been mined and refined to create enough lead acid batteries. Or the road destruction that would have occurred because of all the extra eight being lugged around by those batteries. And we didn’t have solar, wind, nuclear or other electricity generating capabilities at the necessary scale so the electricity would have still been producing as much or even more carbon emissions.

However, I certainly think that we could have gotten a much earlier start on BEVs than we did. Better late than never though. And now we must play “catch-up” with where we might have been. Or at least make enough progress to keep us from going extinct due to climate change.

I am certainly looking forward to where we are headed.

 

[ajdelange]

Linear Labs said its patented technology produces up to twice the torque of competing motors and can be made using rare-earth or ferrite magnets.

That's enough to scare me off by itself as any motor can produce twice the torque simply by doubling the current sent to it. Readers should aware that there are lots of motors out there and they are amazingly efficient such that there aren't going to be any more Wows out of motor technology when it comes to efficiency. This does not mean that fighting for even an additional fraction of a percent isn't a good thing to do and it doesn't mean that there aren't some other potential Wows left in electric motor tech but they will come from finding ways to make them lighter and cheaper and more reliable.

And remind me what it is we need higher torque for?

 

[Crissa]

And remind me what it is we need higher torque for?

Smaller motors.

Torque is not speed. High torque lets to get things moving, but it doesn't say anything about the top spin speed of the motor.

What they're suggesting is entirely plausible; Tesla motors already take advantage of shaped magnetic fields like this. There's another company that's been working with motors with more than one pattern oof wire-wrapping.

This is all math we knew was possible, I have a book from the 30s that describes the know functions of wire wrapping and magnets, but until today's robotic and material precision, were just not possible or feasible to make.

-Crissa