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

Australian electric truck manufacturer SEA Electric is set to partner with Toyota to deliver a new range of zero-emissions trucks, to be branded under Toyota’s truck subsidiary Hino.

The partnership was announced as part a major launch of Hino Trucks ‘Project Z’, which sets out the company’s pathway to delivering zero emissions commercial trucks into the market.

Hino is one of the world’s leading suppliers of trucks and heavy transport vehicles, and forms part of the vehicle giant Toyota’s group of companies. The company will expand its range of vehicles, which predominantly features diesel fuelled trucks, to include a number of electric and hydrogen fuelled options.

The project will see a new all-electric class 5 truck built on a Hino chassis and powered by an electric drive system supplied by SEA Electric, as well as a class 8 tractor trailer powered by Toyota’s hydrogen fuel-cell system.

Hino will also develop an all-electric tractor trailer built with an electric drive system supplied by Hexagon Purus and an all-electric class 8 truck built upon the battery and drive system developed by Xos Trucks.

Hino expects to be able to deliver demonstrator models for customers of what it describes as “sustainable and low cost” all-electric and fuel-cell trucks in 2022, with full-scale production to commence before 2024.

The deal is a major coup for SEA Electric, which has already established an assembly base in Victoria, and will supply Hino with the electric drive system that will power Hino’s M series of mid-range trucks.

The electric drive system developed by SEA Electric has been deployed through a number of partnerships with major vehicle manufacturers. The company’s drive system was chosen by Ford to power the American company’s all-electric F-59 van, and has also been used in the Isuzu F Series truck.

SEA Electric currently operates a factory based in Dandenong in Victoria, and has sought to grow its presence into overseas markets, and operates an additional facility in California. The company has already supplied a number of all-electric heavy vehicles for use in Australia, including freight trucks, garbage trucks and a model of cherry-picker. READ MORE

Article by Michael Mazengarb, The Driven, 8th October 2020 – Michael Mazengarb is a journalist with RenewEconomy, based in Sydney. Before joining RenewEconomy, Michael worked in the renewable energy sector for more than a decade.