ASPIRE Welcomes EV Powertrain Manufacturer Hypercraft As Industry And Innovation Board (IIB) Partner

SALT LAKE CITY — April 25, 2023 — Advancing Sustainability through Powered Infrastructure for Roadway Electrification (ASPIRE — Utah State University) a National Science Foundation funded Engineering Research Center, taking on the nation’s electrified transportation challenges, welcomed today its newest innovation and industry board partner, Hypercraft. 

A Provo-based technology and EV startup, Hypercraft disrupted the mobility industry in 2020 and 2021 by creating the world’s first complete, fully-engineered electric drive system. 

Today, Hypercraft is valued at $51.5 million, and supplies mobility industry leaders and new adopters alike with comprehensive, OEM-grade, complete electric drive systems for customers seeking electrification for Commercial Fleets, Defense, Motorsport, Powersports, Marine, Aerospace, and Automotive.

“Hypercraft is a unique and exciting addition to our ASPIRE Industry and Innovation Board looking towards electrification of roadways, vehicles and intermodal transportation,” said Don Linford, Innovation Director of ASPIRE. “We look forward to creating opportunities and solutions around all forms of transportation on road and off.”

One of 50+ industry-defining IIB members partnered with the ASPIRE Research Center, Hypercraft aims to help the organization lead several electrified roadway pilots across the country, beginning in Indiana, Florida and Utah. Combined, these pilots will serve as initial steps toward providing wireless charging on interstate highways to enable battery-electric, long-haul freight movement across the United States. 

“Hypercraft joined the bright minds at ASPIRE to work alongside our peers and fellow EV leaders in shaping the coming EV ecosystem,” said Hypercraft Chief Operating Officer Lee Row. “We are very excited to be engaged in developing sustainable transportation solutions for now and the future through cutting edge technology and collaboration.” 

Hypercraft Chief Revenue Officer Shaun Hill continued, “ASPIRE showcases the concept of the electrified road meeting the electric vehicle, an exciting frontier for Hypercraft as we’re leading the development of technology for electrification for all vehicle types. Roadway electrification and the advancement of charging technologies will lead to many new challenges, as well as opportunities. Hypercraft is an excellent IIB partner, as we develop EV drive systems that will be ready to interface with electrified roads and support improvements that are transforming the transportation sector.” 

Across its ten years of National Science Foundation support, the goal of ASPIRE has been to propel society to the tipping point in the proposed transformations across the automotive, transportation and electric utility industries. The organization’s envisioned system of electrified roadways aims to bring power to electric vehicles without the need for large, heavy battery packs. 

Hypercraft, which specializes in the design engineering and production of electric powertrains through its increasingly-proprietary EV battery technology, will play a key role in supporting the development and testing of new battery technology in pilot program states that support ASPIRE’s goals, advancing the electrification of roadways and the future of EV mobility overall, nationwide.

For more information, please visit www.aspire.usu.edu and www.hypercraftusa.com. 

For media inquiries, please contact: 

ASPIRE – Sydney Dahle, sydney.dahle@usu.edu

Hypercraft – Sonia Hendrix, hypercraft@gallerypr.com

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About Hypercraft 

Hypercraft, Inc. builds and sells complete electric drive systems to a variety of B2C and B2B buyers, including customers in the on-road, off-road recreation, racing, resto-mod, fleet and marine industries. Their systems — built with all-new parts — include motors, battery management (BMS), high voltage junction box, high and low voltage wiring, CAN bus connectivity, software, display and throttle. Batteries are also included, and Hypercraft designs and builds their HyperPack™ batteries in capacities ranging from 20kWh to 120 kWh. For more information, visit: www.hypercraftusa.com.  

About ASPIRE

The ASPIRE Engineering Research Center was launched in September 2020 with a $50 million/10 year grant from the National Science Foundation with its main purpose to support widespread adoption of electrified transportation through developing technologies and clearing barriers leading to low cost, ubiquitous charging infrastructure. A key aspect of the ASPIRE research portfolio is dynamic wireless power transfer, a research and development area where USU and its ASPIRE partner universities have led advances for many years. The ASPIRE university partners (Purdue University, University of Colorado Boulder, University of Texas at El Paso, and University of Auckland, New Zealand) are joined by more than 60 industry, government and non-profit members from all sectors of the electric transportation ecosystem. For more information, visit: www.aspire.usu.edu.