SEA Electric Holdings Pty Ltd. recently closed initial private placement equity financing for total gross proceeds of approximately US$42 million. The net proceeds from the investment will allow SEA Electric to solidify its position in the electrification of commercial vehicles while funding its backlog and facilitating more pilot programs with operators.

SEA Electric was founded in Australia in 2012, with a proprietary electric power-system technology (known as SEA-Drive) for the world’s urban delivery and distribution fleets. With global headquarters in Los Angeles, SEA Electric currently has operations in five countries and more than one million miles of independent OEM testing and in-service operation in all markets.

According to President and Founder Tony Fairweather, the financing allows SEA Electric to accelerate its global sales efforts and further utilize its proprietary Sea-Drive 120b battery power system, while strengthening the delivery and distribution transportation segment for vehicles that operate in urban and metropolitan areas.

SEA Electric currently partners with commercial vehicle OEMs, dealers, operators and upfitters to deliver a new range of zero-emissions trucks and is on schedule to deliver more than 1,000 electric commercial vehicles this year. The company forecast is to have more than 15,000 vehicles on the road by the end of 2023.

We are also very excited to welcome Exro Technologies as a strategic partner and shareholder of SEA Electric. We look forward to expanding our partnership with Exro and helping to optimize the utilization of batteries in a second-life application.—Tony Fairweather

According to Fairweather, the collaboration with Exro will focus on utilizing electric truck batteries for energy storage applications. Exro and SEA Electric will co-develop Exro’s Battery Control System (BCS) for operational validation and take the next step toward leadership in power electronics for mobility and energy management.

Working closely with its shareholders, investors and partners including Exro, exclusive financial advisor Eight Capital and international law firm Vinson and Elkins on this financing round, Fairweather confirms the company will also be exploring options to seek a public listing in the United States this year. READ MORE

Article by Green Car Congress, 14 March 2021

This is the second part of ATN’s look at two of Australia’s electric commercial truck early adopters’ experience of their experiment in support of Ikea using SEA Electric-powered light rigids. In it, Paul Kahlert of All Purpose Transport and Finn Dunleavy of ANC explain the driver’s view, how the managers went about it and how they view the future.

DRIVERS’ TAKE 

What driver training was there?

PK: I covered this in the routing part of the response – the vehicle needs to be driven differently to an ICE truck to maximise the regenerative braking and battery performance. We now have a program where a new driver travels as the ‘offsider’ for deliveries where they can see the different driving style and discuss this with an experienced driver.

FD: ANC selected some of our best delivery teams to become our first EV [electric vehicle] drivers. They were accomplished professional drivers already, but there was a learning curve in transitioning to driving a commercial EV. SEA played a crucial role, by providing training days and putting technicians in the trucks with our teams for the first month out on the road.

What was their attitude before?

PK: When the vehicle appeared at our depot, the initial response from the drivers was curiosity – they all climbed in the cabin, walked around the vehicle and commented that it was ‘just a Hino’. There was some scepticism from the older drivers who were quick to criticise the short delivery range, even though their ICE vehicle drove a similar distance with their planned routes. Comments were made such as: “I hope you have got a long extension lead”/”Do you want me to bring my camping generator to put in the back.”

FD: Unsure but excited.

And after?

PK: Drivers who have driven the vehicle all comment on the lack of vibration, ability to hear road users and speed off the mark as what they like. Our business model is using owner-drivers, so there is now an emerging appetite on when they can have one of these vehicles. Each day, the vehicle loads out of the Ikea warehouse adjacent to ICE vehicles – from the drivers’ perspective it is ‘just another truck performing home deliveries’.

FD: Surprised and over the moon. The drivers were blown away by the differences between what they had known about driving a truck and what the new EV vehicle offered them.

How did they handle the increased acceleration of an EV? Any speeding tickets?

PK: The driving teams have learnt that if you ‘drive it like you stole it’ from the lights, you will quickly diminish the range of the vehicle. It has become a ‘badge of honour’ for the driver to do the most distance and return the vehicle with highest battery percentage left.

[As for speeding tickets] fortunately no. We have the vehicle branded with Ikea, so it is important that our driving teams are seen as responsible road users. This is company equipment and we have strong COR [Chain of Responsibility] processes that would not support speeding tickets.

FD: The EV trucks are incredibly responsive and agile, but they are also an 8,000kg truck running at full capacity, and they are governed to 110km per hour. Sustainability is important, but the safety of our people and of the general public is even more important.

How did they adjust to the silence of an EV?

PK: An unintended consequence of the silence is that the vehicle primarily delivers in residential areas. Traditional ICE trucks have engine noise that can alert pedestrians, so I have jokingly suggested that we should play ‘Mr Whippy’ music from the truck to warn pedestrians about the vehicles’ presence.

FD: Delivery teams found the quieter cabin environment a fantastic change to their day. Most truck drivers are used to sitting above a hot, vibrating, noisy engine, but in the EVs that is all gone, and they found communicating with customers prior to arriving at the delivery much easier to do in the new, improved cabin space.

How about brake use?

PK: Drivers like the vehicle ‘automatically’ restricting itself on the downward ascent.

FD: Regenerative braking is something they had to learn, in order to improve the energy recovery back to the battery packs, but it was all handled in the first week of on-road training with the team from SEA.

What did they report to management during the project?

PK: As above.

FD: In the beginning, ‘range anxiety’ was a big issue for the drivers, but after around two weeks, when they were more comfortable, all the feedback was nothing but good. We did have the odd day where charging issues overnight contributed to the vehicle not having enough charge to do a full day’s work, however, that was not an issue with the trucks but rather the charging equipment.

Are there any quotes from them?

PK: As above.

FD: Feedback from some of our drivers: “The EV is quieter and smoother than the diesel trucks. They’re great for driving in the local area and city driving. The customers love the EVs! They have a very positive impact at the delivery point, with customers intrigued to know which company the truck belongs to and whose initiative it was. We confirm it’s a partnership between Ikea and ANC.”

“Three to four days a week, customers ask questions about the EV such as ‘how many kilometres can the truck travel?’ and ‘how do you feel about driving it?’ We’ve even had customers calling their friends while we were on-site to say they just had a delivery by an EV!”

CLICK HERE FOR FULL ARTICLE covering “Management Experience”, and the “Future of EV”

Article by Fullyloaded.com.au ATN, Rob McKay, 21st January 2021

Australia’s electric commercial trucks operational experience is still in its infancy but early Australian adopters are in a position to explain what it took to get this experiment on the road and what was learnt from it, in part one of a two-part series

While it might seem electric trucks have had at least a decade to prove their worth in Australia, the reality is that the country is only starting a journey that will be decades in the making.

Certainly, a few test vehicles found their way into a couple of the nation’s biggest fleets a decade ago or more.

But that can be seen as only the conception becoming a reality – a move at the cutting edge globally, before hydrogen fuel cell technology became something politicians and mainstream pundits knew about.

To gauge just how early we really are in the cycle, fast forward to 2020 and the reality is that there still is only one purveyor of commercial vehicle battery electric propulsion: SEA Electric.

Some competition is promised for the Victorian company that is now making progress in North America and has the local market, such as it is, to itself.

This, at a time when some customers are doing what they can to make their vehicle emissions reduction pledges a reality – global firm Ikea being one, but not the only one – and doing so on our shores using local transport companies.

Keep in mind also that the biggest vehicle in this effort is a light rigid.

Given the first steps have now been taken in what is effectively the start of the proof of concept stage and an experiment rivalling anything seen in Europe, ATN approached All Purpose Transport (APT) and ANC to gauge where they have taken us.

Each has had a year or more to work out how to set themselves up for EV use and how most effectively to use and work with them. APT, in the form of general manager Paul Kahlert (PK), and ANC, through national account manager Finn Dunleavy (FD), were able to respond quite comprehensively in a Q&A.

The questions sought insights into five main subjects: expectations, planning and testing, routes, truck performance and drivers’ experience. CLICK HERE FOR FULL ARTICLE

Article by Fullyloaded.com.au ATN, Rob McKay, 21st January 2021

Australian electric truck success story SEA Electric has supplied the first 100% electric tipper truck to the ACT Government this week, part of its target of running a zero emissions fleet by mid-2030.

SEA Electric, originally founded in Australia in 2012 but now headquartered in California, supplied a fully electric tipper truck powered by the company’s 100% electric SEA-Drive 100-10 power system.

With a 100kWh battery capacity producing up to 108kW maximum power and a range of up to 275-kilometres (unladen), the new electric tipper truck is able to deliver maximum torque of 1,000Nm and can be charged using its onboard three-phase charter to 80% within 5 hours.

“It was a pleasure to be present in our Nation’s capital for the handover of this 100% electric tipper truck” said Glen Walker, SEA Electric’s Regional Director, Oceania.

“This truck is ideally suited to the intended application of general cleaning and maintenance tasks. It will quietly go about its job whilst avoiding up to 30 tonnes of C0² annually that would otherwise be released by a diesel equivalent.”

Delivery of the new electric tipper truck is part of the ACT Government’s commitment to running a zero emissions fleet by the mid-2030.

“This 12-month trial of the new electric tipper truck supports the ACT Government’s strong commitment to sustainability which includes a commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in its operations to zero by 2040,” said Chris Steel, Minister for Transport.

Just this week, the ACT took the first steps towards delivering 90 electric buses, launching a sounding process for the supply of both the buses and the necessary supporting infrastructure.

The Transport Canberra’s Zero Emissions Transition Plan seeks to deliver a zero-emission public transport system by 2040 and has already started out with the introduction of a light rail to Canberra which has already seen 20% of its trips powered by 100% renewable electricity.

The ACT’s ambitious plans were part of a power sharing agreement between the ACT Labor and ACT Greens signed early November which also included a target of reaching net zero emissions by 2045. READ MORE

Article by The Driven, Joshua Hill, 23 December 2020

Consultancy Invictus Advisory sees founder take SEA board position

SEA Electric reports two-thirds of a US capital raising effort has been gained so far.

The Melbourne-headquartered battery-electric propulsion firm has made significant headway in the US and says it closed US$20 million of a US$30 million (A$28-$43 million) ‘Series A’ round last week. 

The financing was led by San Francisco-headquartered international boutique investment bank GCA Global.

Participants in this round included strategic, financial and hybrid investors with Invictus Advisory Group (IAG) securing the first $20 million investment.

IAG was founded by Kevin Smith in 2013 and recently launched a US$750 million mobility and electrification fund focused on investing across the electric vehicle lifecycle from batteries to vehicle production and aftersales services, SEA notes.

“I look forward to lending my expertise to the SEA Electric team as we search for novel ways to increase company value,” IAG managing partner Kevin Smith says.  

“It has been a pleasure getting to know the team and I am excited to be a part of our next stage of growth.”

Commonly, firms seek Series A funding – the first of three stages that follow seed funding – which often attracts venture capitalist interest when looking for enterprises with a track record but still at the early stages expansion.

The announcement comes as Hino in the US reveals SEA Electric’s role in its electrification program in North America.

“SEA Electric is continuing to develop, enhance and deploy its electric SEA-Drive technology in collaboration with glider chassis suppliers across a range of van and truck-platforms in all major global markets,” SEA Electric founder and president Tony Fairweather says.

“Having IAG’s investment support and Kevin Smith join our board, will both expedite scale and provide invaluable segment and market experience.”

IAG is said to be an investment advisory and consulting firm with direct access to major sources of financing and investment from Fortune 500 companies and the US government. 

The investment announcement is SEA Electric’s first this year and a further independent board position is to be announced soon. READ MORE

Article by ATN fullyloaded.com.au, 2nd November 2020

Fulton Hogan and ORIX Australia Fleet Management have launched their first SEA Electric truck, which has zero emissions for an improved carbon footprint.

The all-electric SEA Hino 917 EV will be used as a road sign and maintenance vehicle at the City of Port Phillip in Melbourne.

Scott Thorpe, ORIX’s General Manager Sales and Marketing said, “ORIX is a Fleet Management leader, specialising in the acquisition, financing, and management of vehicles including electric vehicles. We share SEA Electrics’ ambition to identify and implement environmentally sustainable solutions that support organisational requirements. ORIX is extremely proud to have worked with long-standing client, Fulton Hogan, on this electric vehicle.”

The SEA Hino 917 EV costs savings through reduced fuel and maintenance. It is also whisper quiet, reducing noise pollution in urban streets.

In a world first, the electric truck has outlets for power tools to be used roadside, powered off the EV trucks’ battery rather than a fossil-fuel-powered generator.

Fulton Hogan CEO – Infrastructure Services, Matthew MacMahan said the team is excited to introduce the first fully electric maintenance vehicle into its fleet. “The technology aligns with Fulton Hogan’s commitment to sustainable transport and roadworks solutions.”

Glen Walker, SEA Electric’s Regional Director of Oceania, added that the SEA Electric team had some fun turning the idea into reality. “We joked we have just built the world’s most versatile zero-emissions power board,” he said.

“We thank Fulton Hogan and ORIX for giving SEA Electric another opportunity to prove the ability, adaptability and versatility of our SEA-Drive® technology. This vehicle also expands upon the increasingly productive collaboration between SEA Electric and Hino Trucks Australia.”

The electric truck is built on a Hino 917 platform however, future orders can be adapted to most OEM glider platforms. It is powered by the SEA-Drive 100 power-system with a 100kWh battery capacity, which produces 108kW maximum power. The SEA-Drive 100 also produces a maximum torque of 1000Nm, has a range of up to 275km (unladen), with an onboard three-phase charger that can be charged to 80% within five hours. The EV truck also has CCSD DC fast charge. READ MORE

Article by Big Rigs, October 21 2020