EDI is in the business of building relationships with our valued customers and our strategic partners. Through our unique expertise and innovations in developing and implementing next generation hybridized/electric drivetrain products and services, we deliver game-changing solutions and technologies to our customers that help them achieve the ultimate competitive advantage.
EDI has many significant differentiators and competitive advantages that set us uniquely apart from other solution providers. These other providers typically consist of integrators or conversion companies that are primarily engineering service organizations which lack proprietary technology. Other providers can often be motor or battery companies that do not offer a complete drivetrain solution, or hybrid drivetrain developers that use a common series architecture that can be more expensive and less efficient. In addition to EDI's innovative drivetrain architectures and components, we also have a line of CVT transmissions and control technologies which no other hybrid technology provider can offer today. Our complete and proprietary line of some of the world's highest performing CVTs coupled with our superior drivetrain technologies allows EDI to deliver the most powerful solutions available.
EDI's products and technologies uniquely support multiple architectures and duty classes based on the customer and market requirements:
EDI's technology historically originated from several generations of innovative and award winning vehicles that were developed as part of University, government, U.S. Department of Energy (USDOE), and various automotive industry funded projects. These technological breakthrough projects were developed at the University of California Davis and were led by Professor Andy Frank, EDI's CTO along with other major industry partners. In addition to its own intellectual property, EDI also has an exclusive license for the entire UC Davis patent portfolio related to hybrid electric vehicles and CVTs.
Professor Frank has not only held world records in fuel economy and has designed nine generations of PHEVs, but he is also a four-time winner of USDOE Advanced Vehicle Design competitions, holds over 30 patents, and is recognized by the United States Congress for his leadership in the field of Plug-In Electric Vehicle technology. From the evolution of earlier technological advances, EDI has developed the next generation of hybrid / electric drivetrains and CVTs and continues to develop innovative technologies.
Our product offerings include drivetrain controllers, control software and algorithms, high efficiency continuously variable transmissions (CVTs), prototype drivetrains and architectures, proof of concept and demonstration vehicles, battery modules and other critical components that can be sourced from our strategic partners. Our support services include drivetrain engineering, design and analysis, and technical and manufacturing ramp up support.
Parallel architecture technology and capability: EDI can support market requirements for any type of vehicle architecture depending on the specific market and performance requirements. EDI is unique in our ability to provide parallel drivetrain solutions which allow both the engine and the electric motor to provide power in tandem to the drivetrain system. This implementation requires sophisticated engineering and control software, but yields an implementation that is significantly less expensive, has less size and weight, and is more efficient in numerous ways. The majority of other drivetrain technology firms are specializing in the more common "series" architecture. These are easier to develop, but typically result in a significantly more expensive and a common "me too" implementation.
Applications and technologies for multiple classes and types of vehicles: EDI works with our customers to develop an optimized drivetrain solution for their choice of vehicle and market requirements, and is able to support virtually all vehicle classes including light, medium, and heavy duty. Once the drivetrain solution has been engineered, EDI is able to introduce our own products, software, and specialized components into the production build of those vehicles, which provide a scalable revenue stream. Most other companies have a particular drivetrain solution which is not optimized for special vehicle requirements or which does not scale to all of the various vehicle classes.
Continuously Variable Transmissions (CVTs): Another significant differentiator is in the area of CVTs. EDI has developed "world's first" implementations, including CVTs which are the most efficient and also some of the largest in the world today. EDI's CVTs increase fuel economy, reduce emissions, can increase the electric range and life for a battery pack, and allow for pure electric vehicles to have both hill climbing capabilities and a high top speed. These CVTs have applications in battery electric vehicles, HEVs, PHEVs, and conventional vehicles and are also being developed for light, medium, and heavy duty vehicles. No other hybrid drivetrain company also has a complementary CVT technology. Additionally, those companies which do have CVTs do not have complimentary hybrid technologies and also cannot provide solutions for medium or heavy duty vehicles.
Patent portfolio: EDI has a significant patent portfolio covering fundamental PHEV/HEV vehicle concepts, control algorithms, CVT, and applications of CVTs to hybrids. The company is focused on innovation on an ongoing basis and is continuing to expand its patent and IP portfolio.
We apply our expertise, technologies and advantages to multiple vehicle types and classes, optimizing performance, efficiency while reducing technical risk and R&D expense.