The following is a report from The Denver Post.
A startup that is out to electrify recreational vehicles expects to start commercial production before the end of the year in its new facility in Broomfield’s Baseline Innovation District.
Lightship co-founders Toby Kraus and Ben Parker want to make the kinds of advancements in the RV industry that they witnessed while working at Tesla.
The Lightship L1 is an aerodynamic, battery-powered travel trailer whose canopy, or top, is lowered for what the company calls “road mode.” For “camp mode,” the roof is raised, turning the Lightship into a camper with the capacity to sleep up to six people and furnished with all-electric appliances, including a dishwasher.
The canopy will be controlled by the Lightship’s “infotainment” tech system, spokesperson Amanda Winther said. People can use a tablet or a mobile app to lower or raise the top and monitor the onboard systems.
Kraus, Lightship’s president, said the towable trailer’s electric powertrain has up to 80 kilowatt-hours of onboard battery capacity, which allows the trailer to propel itself. That results in near-zero range loss for electric tow vehicles or little loss in fuel efficiency for gasoline-powered vehicles.
A 300-mile range electric vehicle used to tow the trailer maintains its 300-mile range, according to Lightship.
“The 80 kilowatt-hours of energy is about as much energy as you would have in a modern electric vehicle,” Kraus said during a recent tour of the company’s 30,000-square-foot building.
In addition, the RV has highly efficient solar panels built into the roof and awnings that will generate up to 3 kilowatts of power. “It’s about as much solar power as you’d put on a small home installation,” Kraus said.
Recreational vehicles are ripe for changes, said Parker, the company’s CEO. “One in 10 American families own an RV, but the RV industry hasn’t experienced innovation for decades,” he said in a statement.
Vehicles whose power relies on “smelly, noisy, gas or propane generators fundamentally hinder the amazing experience of traveling in the outdoors,” Parker added.
There are 11.2 million RV owners in the U.S., according to the RV Industry Association. A report by the association said ownership has increased roughly 62% in the last 20 years, with significant growth among 18- to 34-year-olds.
About 85% of the RVs are towable, said Jason Rano, the RV association’s vice president of government affairs.
“RVing is a massive, massive pastime,” Kraus said.
Winnebago and THOR Industries are among the mainstream companies developing electric camper vans or RVs. Other startups are also working on them. Kraus said THOR has invested in Lightship.
“I’m glad to see that the industry at large understands electrification is coming and that customers want it,” Kraus said.
The company said it raised $34 million in Series B financing early this year. Kraus and Parker founded Lightship in 2020.
Read the full report by Judith Kohler at The Denver Post here.
