Battery-electric railcar start-up Intramotev has raised $14.4m in a Series A funding round as it looks to continue expanding its world-first retrofit technology. 

The company revealed its “oversubscribed” funding round was led by Flybridge Capital Partners and Alpaca VC but also included investment from industry partners including private rail platform company Cathcart Rail. 

Intramotev CEO Tim Luchini said: “This funding positions us to continue deploying our technology to customers across the US and abroad to unlock a new era of growth for the rail industry. 

Luchini said the company’s TugVolt and ReVolt products provided an answer to the industry’s call for freight solutions that “don’t compromise on efficiency, speed, or flexibility.” 

The technology consists of self-propelled battery-electric railcars that can be used on their own for point-to-point transport, as TugVolt, or as part of a standard train, as ReVolt, in a distributed propulsion system. 

Intramotev has already deployed its ReVolt technology at Iron Senergy’s Cumberland Mine in Pennsylvania, US and is set to launch the TugVolt at a calcium mine owned by Carmeuse Americas later in 2024. 

Speaking to Railway Technology earlier this year, Luchini said the mining sector was an ideal demonstration area for the company’s railcars thanks to the isolated nature of most mining railroads and the desire for autonomous solutions to address hiring difficulties. 

Other investors to have taken part in the Series A funding round included Advantage Capital, Aera VC, Band VC, Cantos, Collide Capital, Decisive Point, and Idealab Arizona.