Avilla, IN – A small group of employers, economic developers, and government representatives in Noble County met with leaders of a project called INOVEC on January 24 in Avilla, Indiana.
INOVEC is an acronym for Indiana Off-highway Vehicle Innovation Center. INOVEC is not yet a place or a thing, it is an idea that has moved into a second stage of development, having completed a pre-feasibility study in 2022.
INOVEC was introduced to the stakeholders gathered in Noble County at an informal lunch conversation. Ryan Twiss, Vice President of Regional Initiatives at the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership, introduced two key consultants from PEM Motion that traveled from their offices in Sacramento, CA to Indiana to continue working on the next phase of development, a full feasibility study. The purpose of the meeting was not only to introduce INOVEC in Noble County, but also to enable PEM Motion principles to meet more stakeholders in the region as they seek evidence related to this initiative.
Guests in attendance:
- Mark Dörfer, the COO of PEM Motion
- Robin Johnston, INOVEC project manager for PEM Motion
- Ryan Twiss, Vice President of Regional Initiatives, Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership (NEI)
- Dustin Warrix, ONXX Tool
- Wade James, ONXX Tool
- Scott Aselage, Hendrickson
- Tena Woenker, Town Manager, Avilla, and Be Noble Inc. (EDC) Board of Directors
- Grace Caswell, Visit Noble County and Be Noble Inc. Board of Directors
- Melanie Kellogg, Be Noble Inc., Executive Director
- Lori Gagen, Be Noble Inc., Operations Director
- Tara Streb, Be Noble Inc., Administrative Community Relations Specialist
Who is PEM Motion?
PEM Motion is a consulting, training and engineering provider focused on a variety topics in the field of electromobility. It was founded in 2014 as a spin-off of the chair for “Production Engineering of E-Mobility Components” (PEM) at the RWTH Aachen University. The company employs more than 70 people globally.
North American efforts also include locations and a broad network in Mexico and Canada where industry cluster ecosystems have been established in support of electric mobility, battery innovations, and other similar sub-sectors.
The company’s mission is to drastically reduce the time to market and the required investments to allow future solutions to accelerate to market.
Background on INOVEC
Ryan Twiss shared that the INOVEC initiative was recently presented at the Northeast Indiana Japan Summit. NEI has been working locally to help coordinate the work being done in the region to define INOVEC. The idea has been evolving since early in 2022, catalyzed by Mike Terzo, CEO and Founder of Terzo Power Systems in CA. Terzo founded a company in Fort Wayne, Monocerus, Inc., in 2022 and recognized an opportunity to bring PEM Motion here to develop an ecosystem to support the off-highway electric vehicle industry. Terzo had benefited from PEM’s similar ecosystem model in CA, one that supported Terzo Power Systems’ development of high voltage hydraulic solutions for hybrid, EV, and electrified heavy-duty vehicles.
Since then, a pre-feasibility study was completed that further defined the INOVEC project.
Pre-feasibility has determined that the percentage of payroll in Noble County associated with the automotive industry is substantial, with opportunities for companies to move further into that space by transitioning as OEMs move into electrification, or risk facing a potential “cliff” if they are not supported and/or make necessary transitions.
INOVEC project leaders are now in the midst of a full-phase feasibility study, working to define all of the potential “value-add” services they might provide and the possible/likely funding streams for each. The goal is to create a model of sustainability. There have been conversations with the Don Wood Foundation and other possible funders are being sought and identified as the work continues.
What kinds of services might INOVEC provide?
Driven by the recognition that the off-highway vehicle industry is being electrified, but in a very unorganized way and without supports for suppliers, INOVEC proposes to help suppliers fit in and help close the gap on the lack of information around non-passenger EVs. Some of the support structures could include:
- Education – of all stakeholders
- Thought leadership
- Engineering and business consultancy
- Building and validating business models
- Obtaining certifications
- Exporting support
- Building / gaining access to networks
- Facilitating academic research
- Bringing in general industry expertise
- Building relationships with policy makers
- Developing curricula for educators / workforce training partners
- Hosting trade shows / conferences
- Building a cluster “marketplace”
- Offering risk assessments
- Sharing information, data, and trends
- Tapping into and sharing OEM intelligence
- Providing general support to move suppliers “up”, from Tier 2 or 3 to Tier 1 or 2
The audience for INOVEC
PEM sees the suppliers who would benefit from INOVEC in three audience categories:
- Unaware of what’s going on; some willful, some not.
- Unsure; they know opportunities exist, but don’t know how to take advantage of them or what to do next.
- Unstoppable; they are well on their way and have knowledge to share to help others.
As an example of those “unaware”, Twiss shared a story he heard from Mike Terzo. The moral of that story is that a supplier of radiators lost out on RFQs for electric vehicle (EV) supply simply because there had been no transition away from traditional language (“radiator”) to EV language (“thermal management system”). As they talked, Terzo realized the company was out of the loop because the customer likely never even considered them as a supplier in the EV space. They viewed them as a “traditional supplier.” Something as simple as updating language on their website could have put them into a position to bid on new / transitioning business.
Regarding those suppliers who are “unsure”, Robin shared examples of companies that get excited and quickly invest, then burn out because the change they make doesn’t match the growing demand. In such cases, companies can be held back by a lack of supporting suppliers as well – those in the supply chain may not all be moving at the same pace. INOVEC can help companies understand and vet the risks and provide “guide rails” as they make transitions.
How have other ecosystems been funded?
In California, the local utility district saw such value in the work being done to support Silicon Valley that they gave $15M in matching funds, as a renewable match. They had many people shy to put a “toe in the water”, so the utility company put their “whole foot in”, which was the spark needed to move forward.
What’s next?
The efforts now are to figure out what does INOVEC look like and what are the resources needed to perform their role well? What resources are needed to sustain?
Evidence will continue to be gathered to define the resources needed. Possible funding sources are also being sought. Evidence will help validate, or invalidate, the theories behind INOVEC.
Is there a market?
The full feasibility study could be completed in as little as four to six months, however, if evidence changes the course it could take a full year.
Get involved
Northeast Indiana stakeholders in the advancement of the electrification of vehicles, interested in learning more or weighing in about INOVEC, are encouraged to contact NEI.
Ryan Twiss
Vice President of Regional Initiatives
Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership
ryan@neindiana.com
260-469-3464
