# Flux Hybrids (Techstars '21) Techstars company retrofitting fleet vehicles into plug-in hybrids ## Elevator pitch We convert regular gas-powered trucks into plug-in hybrids for business fleets in a way that pays for itself in savings within the remaining usable life of the vehicle. - Canonical URL: https://wefunder.com/flux.hybrids. - Entity ID: wefunder:company:111706 - Last updated: 2026-06-14T05:03:08Z - Generated at: 2026-06-14T17:02:34Z ## Quick facts - Techstars Alabama Energytech portfolio company - Massive market ~200 million fleet vehicles, with 1% of commercial van and truck sales electrified. - Contribute to the immediate reduction of transportation-related carbon emissions - Our technology pays for itself in savings in 3.5 years for the average fleet in the US. - Fleet vehicles are projected to be some of the slowest to electrify due to their rigorous use case. - A patent-pending system that allows for integration across gas, diesel, or other combustion engines - Beginning a paid pilot with Alabama Power Company, one of 13 fleets operated by The Southern Company ## Active fundraises - wefunder:fundraise:60446: 4(a)(6) successful (USD) - wefunder:fundraise:60447: 4(a)(6) successful (USD) ## Story We've seen historic increases in the price of transportation in the last few months. Whether it's semiconductor shortages making used cars worth more than new cars, or conflict putting a strain on gas prices yet again, it has never been more expensive to just get from point A to point B for the average person.  Now just imagine how much harder these changes have impacted commercial fleets.  But what if there was a way to cut these rising fuel costs in half?You probably immediately pictured something like this.  Electrification is front of mind, and by replacing just half of their hundreds or even thousands of vehicles with some brand new all-electric trucks they could put a huge dent in their fuel costs.  Except for the fact that it would cost a fortune, these vehicles aren't even available in mass quantities due to supply chain issues, and on top of all that how would you charge all of them?And in 2018 researchers at UT Austin asked themselves that same question, and they came to the conclusion that we would have to increase nationwide peak power generation capacity by 30% to support an all-electric automotive fleet.  That is an increase of terawatts of power which will take billions of dollars of investment and decades to bring online through renewables.  And that's just generation capacity, the bill quickly climbs into the trillions when you account for the infrastructure needed to transmit that power to EV chargers, and then the cost of the chargers themselves.  On top of that, all of these dollars would be spent on infrastructure projects that take years to get off the ground and decades to complete.But with our technology shown here on this 2008 Ford Ranger, you can get all the benefits of electrification, with the flexibility of gas on your existing fleet vehicles today, without being slowed down by any infrastructure.  We offer an aftermarket plug-in hybrid conversion.  This allows fleets to drive their short everyday drives on electric power, while still offering them the flexibility of gas to ensure they don't have downtime due to lack of charging infrastructure.  On top of that, it makes their gas driving even more efficient than it was before.We splice our 3 component electric powertrain in parallel with your vehicle's existing gas powertrain.  It consists of an off-the-shelf automotive-grade battery pack which we put in place of the spare tire (don't worry we add a can of Fix-a-Flat).  This battery then powers an electric drive unit feeding into our patent-pending mechanical integration system which allows the system to run on electric-only, gas-only, or some combination of the two.  And all of this is managed through our proprietary control algorithm which is constantly optimizing the system for maximum fuel efficiency.  In our first prototype, we were able to achieve the following reductions in costs and emissions...(due to reduced engine use and increased brake life from regenerative braking)(We took our 2008 Ford Ranger prototype from 17 MPG to 34 MPG on the EPA rated combined drive cycle tested in collaboration with researchers at NC State University, further information can be found in the attached Data Report)These results were so good, that when we evaluated the cost savings for an average fleet in the US, our system paid for itself in savings in about 4 years for the average fleet.  However, in some states, it pays off almost twice as fast due to higher gas prices as well as several government incentives.  (More information can be found in the attached ROI Calculator)We do have some competition in the hybrid conversion space.  Specifically XL Fleet also converts hybrid light-duty fleet vehicles such as pickup trucks and vans.  However, their best commercially available system compared to our prototype is more expensive and less efficient.  The key differentiator between us is the proprietary methods we use to convert, they remove the OEM driveshaft and replace it with an electric motor and a shorter driveshaft, we integrate our system upstream of the transmission between the engine and transmission.Their method has a custom electric motor that has extreme operating characteristics since it must apply high torque at a high RPM since it doesn't benefit from the gear ratios of the transmission.  This means that their system adds significant weight to the vehicle, approximately 400-700 lbs depending on the model.Meanwhile, our first prototype system is a much lower cost and lighter technology since we can use smaller, cheaper, off-the-shelf motors in tandem with the existing transmission to propel the vehicle.  Our system only added a net weight gain of 60 lbs to the Ford Ranger prototype shown above.The simplest comparison however is in return on investment.  Our technology can pay for itself in 4 years, XL's would take almost 10 years to pay off under the same conditions.The market for technologies like these is huge, BloombergNEF estimated that there are a total of 200 million light commercial fleet vehicles globally in 2021 and in 2019 there were over 8 million new ones sold with the majority of those being trucks and vans.  All of these fleets are looking to electrify and begin transitioning to lower-carbon options, just not at the price of sacrificing reliability or operational readiness.  This has led to a huge bottleneck and several missed goals set forth by some of our nation's largest fleets.  In short, this market is starving for a solution that will allow them to transition away from the volatility of gas without sacrificing reliability, operational readiness, or profits.That's how we've gotten our foothold in the market with early traction and interest from several fleets.  Specifically, we have a paid pilot with Alabama Power Company's maintenance fleet of 7500 vehicles, which is scheduled to start in April of 2022 on this 2016 F-150.This first vehicle pilot is key because if we hit our milestones on reliability and fuel efficiency, we would then move to a stage 2 pilot with Alabama Power Company of 10-25 F-150s.  Additionally, a successful first vehicle pilot would open the door for the fleets of the other 12 subsidiaries of The Southern Company to begin at stage 2 pilots of 2-5% of their F-150s.Additionally, we've received significant interest in pilots after our APC pilot is completed from 5 other fleets, ranging from as small as 20 vehicles in a landscaping fleet, all the way up to 13,000 vehicles in pest control.Finally, we are constantly receiving calls and emails from private customers nationwide interested in a consumer version of this conversion.  We have received approximately 400 total with more coming in every day.  But the key to our growth is completing this first stage 1 pilot with Alabama Power Company.And we have the perfect team to execute on that, we are a team of NC State and Stanford-trained automotive engineers with extensive hands-on experience through undergraduate and graduate education.  On top of that, when COVID hit one month after we founded this company, we lost access to all our shop space and tools.  But we didn't let that stop us, we kept working.In this parking lot, for a year and a half.  We worked through freezing rain in the winter, and the scorching North Carolina summer, all while scraping by off student loans.  We did this because we know the transportation industry needs to be transitioned to a cleaner future and the current plans won't get it there fast enough.Thanks from the Flux Team and we hope you'll join us on our mission to convert our trucks into the fleet of the future. ## FAQ 1. **after working to adapt for fleet vehicles any thoughts in consumer vehicles next?** - Absolutely! Luckily fleets and consumers share a lot of vehicles in common so we can begin rolling out to consumers as soon as production capacity allows! 2. **If it takes roughly 3.5 years for a customer to START a ROI, what incentive do they have for purchasing your product instead of waiting a year or 2 before replacing the vehicles themselves? Is the customer expected to keep their fleet 10-12 years to justify the retrofit (assum...** - Great question! As of right now, the average fleet we've interviewed keeps their vehicles from 8-12 years depending on the wear from their specific duty cycles. So in most cases, fleets are only replenishing a small percentage of their fleet every year and the vast majority of the vehicles they own and operate at a given time would have enough remaining life to see an ROI. Additionally most of these fleets operate vehicles where the new vehicles they are purchasing are still Internal Combusti... 3. **Where can I find your Form C/SEC filings? I can't seem to find it under your company name on the SEC site.** - We are in the process of finishing financials and filing Form C currently. Goal is to complete it by end of April. 4. **I opened an account with WEFUNDER and then searched for Flux Hybrids and then clicked on it. I then clicked on invest and set it up to transfer money from my bank. The money transferred and I received an email confirmation saying the funds are held in escrow until I decide to ...** - Hey David, sorry that happened, but we have received the funding on our end! 5. **Where is your Form C or the terms of the note? Would love to invest, but no information.** - Currently pending CPA review on our financials which we are getting done ASAP ## Team - Micah Ulrich (CEO) - Cody Biedermann (CTO) - Clay Dowdey (COO) - Bryon Spells (Systems Engineer) ## Q&A - Q: Now that plug-in hybrids are finally and luckily dying (why waste resources on carrying two power sources) what are your plans on retrofitting the vehicles fully to be EVs? - A: We don't quite see it that way, unfortunately, EVs can't totally fulfill our transportation needs right now and are even farther from fulfilling the needs of countries with less developed energy grids. So for the customers in the transportation industry for whom EVs are a non-starter we offer them an alternative to purely gas vehicles at a price point that makes it attractive enough to actually adopt. So in short, we don't see a scalable approach to full EV conversion and will likely only continue doing it on a small custom basis. - Q: Can you illustrate some specific key operating hires or advisory additions you plan to make either during or after the pilot? A short summary on who you think you need to go from a $6M to $60M to $600M cap would be helpful. - A: Currently the key hires would come not from a specific person, but from expanding our labor force to be able to convert more vehicles for the next stages, and train more mechanics on conversions. We have several potential candidates for these roles but none that I can disclose publicly due to their current employment status. - Q: Where can I find your Form C/SEC filings? I can't seem to find it under your company name on the SEC site. - A: We are in the process of finishing financials and filing Form C currently. Goal is to complete it by end of April. - Q: Are you able to provide an update to investors? Thanks! - Q: In the overview I read, "Specifically, we have a paid pilot with Alabama Power Company's maintenance fleet of 7500 vehicles, which is scheduled to start in April of 2022 on this 2016 F-150.". Could you please provide an update on this? Thank you. - Q: how to invest - Q: We want to know what you see your valuation will look like in 3 years also the income and balance statements Not to say much, I think we are very much interested in this project but then we are not opting for the crowdfunding route. We were wondering if you have provisions to accept alternative financing. With that we can cover over 50% of your target raise. Kindly reach out to me at thomas@700capital.se so we discuss further. - Q: Net Loss. The Company has had net losses of $31,456 Are your founders/ employees salaried? If so, are your labor cost baked into your overall losses? Typically when I invest in startups I use a forensic accountant to recast the numbers to determine true value. Typically when I add in salaries the net losses are much larger.. Excited to invest if numbers look good. Thank you - A: Hey Aaron, that net loss is with all founders and early employee salaries included. So labor is baked into the overall losses yes. - Q: Very interested... What is the term sheet on this investment? What percentage of the company are you offering? - A: Hey Aaron, the terms are on a convertible note with a $6mm valuation cap. - Q: Is there any thought to working with companies like Vehicle Reman in Texas that refurbish fleet vehicles? Seems like a great synergy. They take fleet vehicles that have finished their service life and for a fraction of the cost of a new vehicle, they tear it down to the frame and rebuild it. Seems like a great time to add a hybrid setup. - A: Exactly! Our goal is to partner with the existing fleet upfitting/retrofitting infrastructure available. We are able to scale faster and they get additional revenue per vehicle which drives more profit for them since most of their margin is on labor! I'd never heard of Vehicle Reman but will definitely look into them specifically, thanks! - Q: How long does it take to alter a vehicle? - A: The labor time for an install with a mechanic is about 15 hours labor with all parts on hand. So the vehicle would only be out of commission for a few days. - Q: Will you provide kits so individuals will be able to do their own conversions? - A: Absolutely, currently all our capacity is going towards fleet customers but as capacity frees up we’ll allow individuals to purchase for their vehicles. - Q: Sorry if this info is included some place or has already been asked/answered. I see the investment type is a convertible note, but I could not find the terms of the convertible note. Wgat are the terms of the note? - A: It's a $6 million valuation cap or 10% discount with a 3% interest rate. - Q: Very excited about what you guys are doing. Have couple of questions , 1. Any update on your Form C/SEC filings ? 2. Who do you consider as your competitors and any comments on how similar/different you are from https://www.sixwheel.com/ and your moat ? 3. When is this WeFunder campaign closing? 4. How much runway do you have? 5. Are you now or in the future planning to raise via traditional VC's and why did you chose to raise via public crowdfunding for this round? Your answers would be of great help. Thank you and kudos for the progress till now - A: 1. Form C is in the last steps of the process with Wefunder, ideally done by the end of the week. 2. Our biggest competitor is XL Fleet since we're focused on light/medium duty hybrid conversions compared to heavier duty options like Class 8 and above. The biggest portion of our moat is the proprietary integration systems that allow us to achieve results at a price point that pays for itself within the remaining life of the vehicle. 3. We'll be closing as soon as form C is finished since we've reached commitments covering the majority of the round between this and additional angel investors. 4. This fundraise gives us runway for the next 12 months. 5. That is correct, our next round will be from traditional VCs or Private Equity, this crowdfunding raise was primarily to give the opportunity for our non-accredited friends and family to invest at an early stage. Thanks for your kind words! - Q: Congrats, it looks like you are well on your way to having the better "mousetrap". 1. How much of your $10,000 cost of the retofit is profit? Or is that the actual cost and profit will be added to that number? 2. Once the process is perfected, what is the plan and projected costs for scaling your retrofit company so you can actually do thousands of these retrofits throughout the country? - A: Right now we're sitting at a 30% profit margin after installation costs for one-off conversions and believe we can drop that to a 50% margin at a scale of 100 units/year or higher. The current plan for scaling is via slight increases in our internal capacity but the majority of the increase comes from partnerships with upfitters offering us scalable installation infrastructure and distribution. The bright side is this reduces our costs for scaling but we still anticipate raising another ~$10 million throughout the life of the company to accelerate our growth.