June 3, 2024

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Jacksonville

FL

United States

The world's most powerful industrial Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) is fast becoming a reality, thanks to the alignment of Kodiak Technologies, Chang Robotics, and design and engineering technology from Roush. As anticipated, Kodiak and Chang have designed and unveiled the product and business plan for their American-made heavy duty Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV) for commercial and industrial snow removal at the recent Snow Symposium summit in Buffalo, NY.

Following the launch, more than 35 airports are now in talks to become the first to order and implement the ultra-powerful vehicles anticipated to premiere in early 2025. Many more airports—and multiple additional public and government locations and sectors—are planning to follow suit, with the help of federal and municipal incentives that will help to fund the infrastructure and initial costs.

According to Kodiak Technologies board member Matthew Chang, the power output of the new hybrid and electric vehicle makes it the most powerful vehicle ever made, capable of a total torque output exceeding diesel-powered vehicles. The total vehicle power output exceeds two15-liter turbo-diesel engines.

"These new offerings include an HD BEV and a series hybrid BEV capable of more instantaneous power output than a twin diesel engine vehicle, making it more powerful than any other pure battery electric vehicle on the market," he said.

According to Chang, "We knew the vehicle was exceptionally powerful and that we were testing the limits of component suppliers in the USA.  After exhaustive research we could not find a more powerful vehicle with similar all-battery electric architecture. Other larger vehicles such as trains, mining equipment, and construction equipment that operate on electric drive train are not pure battery electric, as they utilize an AC power design or a parallel hybrid design."

A New Horizon

The Kodiak Technologies design leverages technology and existing customer relationships from Kodiak America.The concept is particularly innovative in that it represents a platform design that can be transferred to multiple other vehicle types that require large power output, which has been a previous limitation for BEV's. For areas where MCS (Megawatt Charging Standard) infrastructure is not available, the vehicle design includes a series hybrid option that can be powered by hydrogen, propane, biodiesel, or petrol-diesel to extend range and battery life when required.

The first Kodiak Technologies implementation is an FAA-compliant industrial snow blower vehicle capable of meeting FAA minimum requirements of capability to move 7,000 tons of snow per hour at operating speeds of 25MPH, which the team recently presented as a design and business case at the FAA Snow Symposium summit in Buffalo, NY. The Made-in-America distinction makes the vehicles eligible for federal grant programs including the bi-partisan infrastructure law (IIJA) and inflation reduction act (IRA). The first completed vehicle is under construction now and is expected to be ready for demonstration later this year.

Early Responses

More than 100 airport operators have previewed the new design and business case during the recent FAA presentation, and more than 35 airports departments of the federal government, and international airlines entered discussions with the Kodiak Technologies team.

Responses from airport operators included the following:

"We're extremely pleased to be one of the first airports to view this design and to potentially be one of the first to deploy this exciting technology."

"This successful design, created through the collaboration of well-known American partners such as Roush, marks a significant milestone in the industry. It creates what is perhaps the first and greatest opportunity yet for heavy duty vehicle users to migrate to a sustainable platform."

A representative of one of the nation's leading airlines remarked, "After a recent preview of the design, I'm highly impressed not only with the design of this new equipment but also with the technology roadmap and the future capabilities for this platform technology, which may impact the breadth of industrial EV equipment for many generations to come."

For more information, readers can visit KodiakTech.io or can download a copy of the business case paper here.

About Kodiak Technologies

Founded in 1998, Kodiak America has been designing, developing, and distributing premier snow blowers, runway sweepers, push plows, and railway blowers for various industries and markets. Kodiak America's products are known for their durability, performance, and innovation. Kodiak vehicles and equipment are utilized by the FAA, State, Federal and International Departments of Transportation. Kodiak's vision is to be the world leader in snow removal solutions.

Learn more at www.kodiaktech.io or www.kodiakamerica.us.

About Chang Robotics

Chang Robotics, a dba of Chang Industrial, is an engineering firm that specializes in advanced manufacturing, collaborative robotics, and disruptive automation. Chang Industrial seeks to revolutionize supply chain automation and improve workforce productivity through human-focused robotic implementations and autonomous systems. We create future-facing technology road maps that help companies of all sizes to advance their technology initiatives. Chang Industrial has received numerous awards and experienced rapid growth since its founding in 2017 and was named a Top 10 Global Supply Chain Leader by IE Magazine in 2022. For more information, visit ChangRobotics.ai on LinkedIn.