According to Shkondina, in the laboratory of UM already collected samples of nearly all types of vehicles with motor-driven electro-mechanical trigger: from wheelchair to vehicle. “These are the prototypes of future transport, says Sandin.– Long being developed that are aimed at weakening the dependency of the transport of raw materials and increase its sustainability. While market electric vehicle no: samples of electric cars more than conventional cars, although on many technical indicators they lose. But soon transport with electric and hybrid engines cheaper and technically more advanced, and Ultra Motor will be one of the first companies that will be able to bring to market a mass product.”
Anticipating the recent global boom in the sphere of electric transport, UM decided that the development of the promising market it is better to begin with the formation of niches. This niche may be the Indian market by the end of the UM plans to bring the engine Shkondina for electric bikes with Cycles the code name UM.
The highlight of the situation is that bicycles in India are few, although ordinary bicycles there are over 300 million people.
The venture Fund “Russian technologies” is part of the “Alfa group”. Was created for the commercial development of promising Russian technology projects. The amount of capital is $20 million, average investments of $1-3 million One of the previous projects of “Russian technologies” is the joint Intel Capital participation in investment company “Electro-com”, which is engaged in the development of PLC technology to access the Internet via the electrical network. The shareholders of Ultra Motor Fund “Russian technologies” was signed in April 2004, and has invested $1.1 million and received a 44% stake in the company.
The motor wheel Shkondina
“I saw that no one has ever studied the variability of the technical units, says Sandin.– Invented only a few types of electric motors, and operate everything from power plants to vehicles. I’m still during service in the army realized that even in traction motors can use the principle of magnetron – pulse-pausei system used in radars”.
Scandin began working on motors he was making at home in the kitchen. The first model of a pulse-inertial engine he created in the early 1980s. Then Sandin worked in the publishing house “Pedagogy” and in the Soviet-canadian publisher, “the Book Printshop”, where his schedule was quite gentle. “I was trying all the time to devote to the improvement of impulse technology, says Sandin.– The publisher worked just to have money to live on. As a result, in the ten years I have produced around 70 options of engines that could be used in various types of vehicles.”
Incorporated in the engine Shkondina original principles of unipolar and alternating pulses generated inside the motor Electromechanical trigger, confirmed by dozens of Russian and international patents obtained by the inventor. During the movement of the trigger allows the energy to return to battery. This significantly increases efficiency and provides the superior motor in the transport sector. In addition, there are not 10 to 20 knots, as in other motors, and five, and no external electronic control. The use of a small number of parts in the engine Shkondina increases its reliability, and the cost is two times lower than that of motors of other types.
First, the inventor put the engine on a wheelchair, then on a Bicycle, scooter and motorcycle. “Motor looked very good in the operation of these vehicles, says Sandin.– An additional advantage was that with the motor they could drive without a gearbox, gears and transmissions. Thus, significantly increased the margin of safety.”
Scandin began to exhibit their engines at the exhibitions since the early 1990-ies, when I realized that the level of home-grown “Lefty” went on to serious invention. The Russians took the Grand Prix at the exhibition of inventions in Brussels, Seoul, Geneva, Paris, Hanover, Orlando and other exhibitions, but few have shown his engines of commercial interest.
“Only once, in the middle of 1980-x years, employees of one Russian company has offered to install the motor on the wheelchair, says Sandin.– I agreed, and now the stroller with my engine produced in Russia, although the motor is already out of date. In fact, the guys simply stole my invention. First, we agreed that I would join the company as a shareholder. But after the wheelchair was installed the first motors, the firm disappeared. Then the people who worked there, founded a new company and again took up the issue of strollers with the same motor. But I wasn’t going to chase after them and demand money – I was glad that even an outdated model of the motor is successfully applied in practice.”
The tipping point for the engine Shkondina came in 2002, when the inventor put it at the Moscow international salon of industrial property “Archimedes-2002”. To Sandino asked the representatives of the British venture capital investment Fund Flintstone Technologies involved in the search for promising Russian technologies for building business and bringing it to global markets.
“We saw that the motor Shkondina has a striking commercial advantages: simplicity, reliability and availability, says founder and Executive Director of Flintstone Technologies Ian woodcock.– It is precisely those factors that is ideal for creating any viable products on the market”.
The Foundation invited the inventor to England. Within six months the motor Shkondina has been tested in the laboratories of the universities of Oxford and Southampton. British scientists have confirmed all the stated in the patent specifications and came to the conclusion that the engine of the Russian inventor is superior to the other in agility by 50% and operational efficiency by 30%. Then Flintstone Technologies offered Sandino to conclude a partnership agreement on cooperation. So in the autumn of 2003 there was a company Ultra Motor, the founders of which included Flintstone Technologies that have made 1.4 million pounds, and Shkondin, which invested in the firm its intellectual property.
Electrovalves
“Unlike the Flintstone Technologies we do not start projects from such an early stage, when there is only a prototype product, but no business plan and business model– explains a senior investment Manager of the Fund and member of the Board of Directors of UM from “Russian technologies” Joe Bowman.– Before engaging in the project, we conducted our own technical expertise to understand how an invention is unique. Like any venture Fund, we wanted to assess the size of potential market and what percentage of that can take. And the study of the situation convinced us that in the future we can reach the whole of the electric vehicle, which we believe, in the next ten years will be a key industry in the transport sector”.
However, while the electric vehicle market there, but since the advent in 1994 in Japan of motor-wheels booming market of electric bicycles. Now they produce all the world’s manufacturers easy transport, many of which have moved their production to China and Taiwan. Mr Hambardzumyan, General Director of the company “electric scooter” that sells e-bikes, the demand for them constantly grows in the world. For example, in the United States for the first year were sold about 250 thousand cars in the second year and 1.5 million under forecasts, in seven or eight years, the annual global sales of electric bikes can be $6-10 billion in price from $500 to $1 thousand apiece. The fair value considers “stuffing”: the motor-wheel, where the motor, battery and electronic control unit.
Have Shkondina already had almost finished the model of a competitive Bicycle – chose it as the first product that could begin to promote the company UM. But first should identify a specific market and bring samples to the level when the bike could produce on an industrial scale.
According to Bowman, Flintstone Technologies and Russian technologies considered logical to develop the market of any Asian countries that because of the prevalence of Bicycle called “the States with the two-wheeled economy”. Market research showed that in China, many of its manufacturers of electric bikes, which are unlikely to allow you to settle for the market beginner. Vietnam and other countries are not satisfied due to the underdevelopment of the economies. But India matched all the conditions. In this country there are manufacturers of electrical devices that could produce motors and many local companies, according to Jan woodcok annually to 10 million bicycles. And the demand for this transport is enormous: in India, the bike is almost the main means of transportation and earnings.
However, e-bikes among the Indians do not enjoy popularity, because they are considered too expensive. According to the world Bank, the average annual income of an Indian is less than $480, which is equal to the cost of the cheapest model of the bike. However, UM, Flintstone Technologies and “Russian technologies” found that the company’s prospects in the market development of this, one of the poorest countries in the world, is enormous. Calculations showed that the main drawback of the project is small, the purchasing power of the local population – can be overcome. As stated by managing Director of UM Igor Bogorodov, the price of the bike Cycles UM motor Shkondina will be two times cheaper than foreign analogues.
Indian interest
In the summer of 2004, Crompton Greaves was reached preliminary agreement. Then collaborate with UM agreed major merchants Private Bicycle Avon Cycles and TI Cycles of India. Model c engine Shkondina proposed UM, came to the Indians in all respects.
“Many motors are starting to fail in India, where high humidity, dust, and the average air temperature reaches 50°C, says Sandin.– Besides, as a rule, all the foreign bikes have a electronic control unit. If it breaks, the bike will not go. But our engine is not heated, not afraid of dust and moisture and operates without external control”.
Additional review of the motor Shkondina, which was held by the Indians, took several more months, which pushed planned in UM at the beginning of 2005 the launch of the project. But, according to Bowman, after the signing in early March of the final Protocol of intentions with Crompton Greaves Ltd date of withdrawal of the bikes for the mass Indian market has become more clearly defined. UM Cycles should appear on sale in the fall. And previously, as noted by the General Manager in introducing new products TI Cycles Vasant Dewaji, in the beginning of the summer the company expects to deploy a large-scale advertising campaign and to produce a trial batch of the model to see the reaction of the buyers.
“We chose the model of the motor UM, because I am convinced that she has the advantages in environmental terms in front of the other and it is much cheaper– says Devii.– It can be a strong advantage when moving to other markets. We do not exclude that after some time, TI Cycles has even started to export products to China, where she will be able to compete with the bicycles produced locally. Because the potential of the Chinese market is huge on bikes in this country move more than 500 million people.”
Now the innovation division under the leadership of UM Shkondina ends the debugging engine Cycles for UM to match the requirements of the Indians. “They asked that the bike could not move faster than 25 km per hour, because otherwise, you will have the right to use the vehicle, explains scandin.– Another condition is to reinforce the car so it could drive not only the owner, but someone from his family. Therefore we decided to adapt the engine to a more powerful mountain bike”.
Elektrobudowa Ultra Motor
According to vodaka probably the first placement of UM stock in the public market may be made on the London stock exchange. It will soon be the shares of the company Hardide Ltd. with an expected price of $23 million – one of the previous projects Flintstone Technologies, which began in mid-2004 and are based on innovative technologies in the chemical industry, also proposed by Russian scientists.
Shareholders of UM I hope that in a few years will enter the market and other products of the company that will greatly enhance the value of UM in the IPO. For example, now employees of the innovation Department is adjusted to the optimum “quadrumvirate”, which was patented by Continum in 2002. His power of 500-600 watts, but, says the inventor, he easily pulls a “Zhiguli” car with a speed of 25 km/h. Develop a hybrid engine that runs on electricity, but uses energy from the combustion of wood alcohol.
According to Shkondina, is a very interesting proposal came from one of the French company, which intends to order in UM a batch of electric cars for municipal services – the police, the courier mail and medical care. All-wheel drive vehicle weighing 350-400 kg and a capacity of 270-300 kg on a single battery charge can pass 250-300 km and thus easily bypasses the urban traffic jams, as its width is only 100 see Also UM continues to improve engines for mountain bikes, wheelchairs, three-wheeled Volokolamsk for the elderly, the loading of electric cars and other machinery.
“While the company which only begins to work actively, focused on specific market needs, although will soon begin to form their own, says Sandin.– Now in India popular bike, and we’re doing it. But if you need to quickly develop and offer for mass production electric vehicle, then no problems will arise – samples of engines to it is made and tested in the laboratory of the company”.
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Our inventor with money our venture investor and international management is implanting the world for a new form of transport.