PJTL Electrification provides students with unique opportunities to experience entrepreneurship by working with startup companies that are building the future, specifically regarding the electrification of transportation, everything from power electronics, micro-grid, power electronics, batteries, metering, to full vehicles.
The program pairs emerging EV startups (Post-series A funding) with top-tier undergraduate and master’s students studying Engineering, Computer Science, Data Analytics, Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Physics, and Materials Science Engineering interested in tackling industry challenges defined by exploratory technical projects, with the goal of educating students through mentorship and immersive interaction with high-growth ventures.
“We’re extremely excited for this inaugural cohort of startups to work with a diverse and exceptionally talented group of students,” commented Nick Moroz, Director of Entrepreneurial Practice at the Center for Entrepreneurship, Director of the Perot Jain TechLab programs. “These startups are responsible for many critical technological advancements that will power the transition of transportation to an electric future.”
2024 will be the first year for PJTL Electrification, an expansion of the PJTL series of programs made possible by the support of venture capital firm Perot Jain, and the State of Michigan Office of Future Mobility and Electrification. These partners helped to identify and recruit leading companies from around the globe. Building off of the success of the PJTL at Mcity program, it’s expected that PJTL Electrification will be an unparalleled platform to provide students with exclusive professional opportunities.
The student application for the 2024 cohort is now also live. If you are a U-M student who is interested in starting a career in the electrification of transportation industry, strongly consider applying.
Utilidata (Providence, RI) – Utilidata is a technology company, partnered with NVIDIA, bringing open-source distributed AI to the edge of the electric grid to accelerate decarbonization. Students will gain hands-on experience integrating, testing, characterizing, commissioning, deploying, and supporting meter collars containing smart grid chip technology. Students with the requisite software and/or data science background may also interface with the Utilidata software team to help develop algorithms and training protocols related to EV charging, and explore ways to enable local innovators and entrepreneurs to begin developing 3rd-party apps on the platform.
BILITI Electric (Culver City, CA) – Biliti Electric is a battery technology and light EV company for B2B shared mobility use cases. Biliti Electric’s UVP is a military grade (fireproof, waterproof, drop-proof) swappable battery that is highly recyclable and enables EV infrastructure to scale up at the highest speed and lowest cost for high utilization 80%+ form factors. For this project students will demonstrate a proof of concept for automated battery swapping for last mile delivery vehicles at microhubs.
LIVAQ (Detroit, MI) – LIVAQ is an electric off-road vehicle startup developing a striking and novel E-ATV. LIVAQ aims to pursue differentiation through innovation and design, creating modern aesthetic products driven by sustainable technologies. For this project, students will endeavor to holistically upgrade the eQuad experience by introducing an Electric Boost for enhanced motor performance, integrating wireless charging capabilities, and developing a comprehensive user app for control and analytics.
Marel Power (Plymouth, MI) – Marel Power Solutions develops modular power sub-systems, targeting the EV industry and specifically the challenges of converting AC sources and DC batteries. Marel’s unparalleled cooling technology extracts double the heat while cutting size and weight by half and reducing the number and cost of these semiconductors at the heart of this challenge.
For this project, students will plan and simulate the replacement of an inverter in an existing production solution with a solution using Marel Power technology, such as electric charging operations or propulsion operations, and ultimately show improved power density and system cost savings.