Sustainable motor company Infinitum today announced today that it has raised $185 million in a Series E funding round, with proceeds aimed at expanding production to meet demand, and to drive industrial sector decarbonization.

The round was led by Just Climate with participation from Galvanize Climate Solutions and NGP. Existing investors including Alliance Resource Partners, Rockwell Automation, Riverstone Holdings, Chevron Technology Ventures, Cottonwood Technology Fund and Ajax Strategies also participated in this round, bringing total funding to-date to $350 million.

Motors are the largest single end-user of energy, according to the IEA, consuming 53% of electricity globally, with significant increases in electricity demand expected over the next several years, as the industrial sector shifts to electrification. According to Infinitum, current motors waste a significant amount of energy by only operating at a single speed.

Founded in 2016, Texas-based aims to reduce electricity consumption in industrial motors. The company’s motors have a built-in variable frequency drive (VFD) that reduces energy usage by running the motor at lower speeds when possible. The motor is 50% smaller and lighter, uses 66% less copper and consumes 10% less energy than traditional motors. Infinitum’s air-core motors replace the conventional copper-wound iron core stator with a lightweight printed circuit board stator that the company said is 10x more reliable. This, and the motor’s modular design reduce the carbon intensity of manufacturing and servicing Infinitum motors, and allows components to be reused multiple times.

Ben Schuler, founder and CEO at Infinitum, said:

“Partnering with Just Climate, Galvanize Climate Solutions, NGP, Alliance Resource Partners, Rockwell Automation and our existing investors in this investment round is an exciting milestone, and will allow us to make a bigger impact. Our talented team has worked to deliver an award-winning motor that can power the world’s industrial applications with less energy, material and waste to make a positive impact on our planet today and serve generations of the future.”

Infinitum also said that it is jointly developing a motor system with Rockwell Automation, compatible with Rockwell’s industrial automation solutions that will be distributed through Rockwell. 

Barry Elliot, Vice President & General Manager, Power Control, Rockwell Automation said:

“The ease and benefits offered by Infinitum’s combined motor and VFD system can serve as a catalyst for industrial companies to easily transition to using VFDs and save on energy costs. We’re excited to expand our partnership with Infinitum and look forward to the impact it will have on decarbonizing the sector.” 

Benoit Grobon, Director at Just Climate added:

“We believe replacing millions of outdated, single-speed motors with higher-efficiency, variable speed motors is key to helping the industrial sector meet sustainability objectives and solving the net zero challenge. Infinitum’s motors are a disruptive, high-impact solution that can be produced at scale and easily implemented to benefit industry through reduced energy consumption and waste.”