Witricity, one of the most prominent startups in the electric vehicle loading business, closed quietly what had been his main office in Watertown earlier this year. The new witricity headquarters are in Midway, Georgia, on the outskirts of Savannah. This is where the company’s new CEO, Joe Benz, resides, but he says there were other reasons for relocation.
The head of Technology Morris Kelser calls the closure of the Watertown Office “a cost of cost savings” and says that “there are a good handful of staff based in Massachusetts and that it works remotely.” Benz says that about 80 people work for witricity, from a peak of more than 100, according to the former employees.
The company was born in 2007 to market a technology invented in the MIT that can “make” electricity at short distances, with a loss of minimal energy. Although the company explored using its technology to load laptops or wireless phones placed on a desk, during much of its life, Witricity has focused on the wireless cargo of electric car, working with manufacturers such as BMW, Toyota and Hyundai. But the technology, which required a loading pad would settle in the garage or the driveway of a driver and a cargo receptor built into the car, only went into a very small number of leased vehicles. Install a loading pad and the receiver in the vehicle added about $ 5,000 at costs; The company aimed to reduce $ 2,500 over time.
Talks with Tesla about the integration of witricity technology into their vehicles seemed to progress, but they were finally gel, according to a former employee. (Tesla has long been the highest worldwide manufacturer of electric vehicles, but is now being challenged by BYD of China.)
Witricity is focused on manufacturing equipment that will allow the wireless car load and so -called “neighborhood electric vehicles”: golf carts used for the transport of courses, according to Benz.
Although electric car sales have not taken off as the company once planned, it says that these smaller vehicles can provide witricity “a good niche business that generates income here and now”, before the passenger vehicle market grows to higher sales volumes. Benz hopes that it can happen until 2029 or 2030.
Several main golf carriage makers, including Club Car and Ez-Go, are in Georgia. Benz also plans to focus the company on the wireless load of electric “garden tractors” (high resistance vehicles moving load trailers through the ports or railways) and points out that the port of Savannah is expanding.
Several key executives have left witricity in recent months, including the company’s human resources chief, marketing chief, principal vice -president of engineering and financial manager. Benz says “all our key positions are filled”, but it would not be more specific.
Witricity has been found at the end of the loss two recent demands Related to the patents of their wireless load technology.
Will Gaylin, an entrepreneur who tracked the company, says Witricity has fought because the company has had “a solution to a problem.” And instead of being able to make and sell a product, he has had to wait for vehicle manufacturers – and now golf cart manufacturers – to choose to integrate their technology.
“This is very difficult in a market like EVs that are not yet there,” says Gaylin, CEO of Indigo, a Woburn company that designs electric and self -employed vehicles for distribution and delivery services.
The state of Georgia did not offer incentives to persuade Witricity to move its Massachusetts headquarters, according to Benz. He hopes that the company will try to collect additional funding by 2025. Witricity has already raised more than $ 150 million in venture capital funding, some of investors such as Foxconn, Intel and Mitsubishi.
Once again on the Witility Road: He had planned to make his new equipment for the loading of the golf cart in China. This means that the product would face a 145% rate when it is sent to the United States Benz says that the company has begun to explore domestic manufacturing options.