On Wednesday, 14 June 2023, ATU iHub Galway hosted its Summer Client Event, featuring three guest speakers; Liz McGloughlin, CEO of Tympany Medical, the creators of the world’s first sterile, sustainable, panoramic endoscopy; Camille O’Malley, Co-Founder and CTO of Xtremedy Medical, who focus on the next generation of infection treatment; and Xerotech’s CEO and founder Dr. Barry Flannery.
How innovation drives Xerotech
Explaining the nature of the battery packs, their configurability, and their use for various applications, Dr. Flannery was keen to distinguish how Xerotech and commercial electric vehicle makers differ. “Our target market is the low volume one where specific energy outputs are required for the vehicles in question. Once we determine their requirements, we can build a bespoke battery to suit these needs. On the other hand, major EV makers leverage high volume-low variety designs that they can mass produce.”
“What we do at Xerotech,” Dr. Flannery revealed, “is personalize the battery system for our customers in terms of energy required, voltage and battery chemistry. The scalability of the system means it can be used for vehicles and machines of different sizes, and there are no design or engineering costs, making it ideal for prototype projects too.”
He also referenced the urgency of adopting electric solutions, given zero-emission policies set by governments and companies around the world. “Time is ticking, so we want to make buying an electric battery as easy as buying a diesel engine today,” he said.
The in-house approach
Dr. Flannery also explained the innovating processes that build Xerotech’s technology is as vital as the revolutionary technology itself. “At Xerotech, we focus on the capacity to innovate as well as the innovation itself”. The level of vertical integration is unprecedented, and if a particular tool is needed to further advance the battery system, it can be produced by our tooling department.
This prompted a question from the audience, asking about the benefits of such an approach. “Primarily, it makes us robust against possible supply chain disruptions,” he replied. “In the company’s early days, we found it hard to get the support we needed from tool makers. By producing in-house, we reduced a 12-week turnaround time for certain tools to one week. Additionally, if there are any problems along the way, it’s much easier to trace back, solve and avoid them in the future.”
Dr. Flannery explained that bringing so much in-house is what helps drive company-wide innovation and gives more control from start to finish. This makes building the team as important as making the product. With around 170 employees currently, there is a drive to have more than 200 by the end of 2023. “A lot has been done, but there’s still a lot more to do”, he concluded.
About ATU iHub
The iHub at ATU Galway City & Mayo incubators provides high-potential entrepreneurs and innovative start-ups with the business skills, networks, space, and supports necessary to navigate the business start-up process from concept to successful commercialization.
Since 2005, the Innovation Hubs (iHubs) at ATU Galway and Mayo have assisted entrepreneurs in developing and bringing their business ideas to the marketplace. Designed to play a strategic role in the development of the West region, the iHubs help drive the enterprise model of market-led and knowledge-based industry development.
About Xerotech Battery Systems
Xerotech is an award-winning battery technology company solving one of our generation’s most significant challenges, industrial electrification.
Driven by a shared vision of a fully electric future, our talented team is making an impact on a global scale as Xerotech provides the first truly credible path to zero emissions and enables the electrification of machines that were previously too low-volume to be economically electrified.
Our Hibernium® battery pack platform adapts to the bespoke needs of your vehicle or application. With Hibernium®, you can choose your desired or preferred energy content, operating voltage range, physical dimensions, and even battery cell chemistry.
There are no design or engineering costs, even for one-off prototyping projects making this solution one of the only viable options for low-volume, high-diversity projects.
The electrification of heavy-duty machinery is now available to every OEM and Integrator.
