New Wytheville company plans to seel “plugless power”

In a world of fast food, Netflix and online shopping, “inconvenience” is a dirty word.

A new Wytheville company believes aggravation likewise has no place in the burgeoning field of charging electrical vehicles.

In late July, MTC Transformers, in business in Wytheville since 1985, launched a subsidiary, Evatran, with an anti-cord manifesto.

The company hopes to make its first sales in early 2010 of Plugless Power, touted on its Web site as “the world’s first ‘hands-free’ proximity charging system for EVs [electrical vehicles] and extended-range hybrids,” a system that “eliminates the everyday nuisance of plugging in your vehicle.”

“When a new technology comes out, the quickest things to be adopted are convenient – convenient technologies that don’t change an existing person’s lifestyle,” said Rebecca Hough, Evatran’s director of sales and marketing.

Hough, whose father, Tom, has owned MTC Transformers since 1998 and is now the CEO of Evatran, said during an interview Thursday in Wytheville that the new company hopes its product will be a crucial component in helping make electrical cars appealing to all vehicle buyers. 

“Pretty much our goal … is to help push the world towards the adoption of the electric vehicle,” she said.

Plugless Power uses the principal of electrical induction to eliminate the need for a plug and cord.

As Hough described it, a traditional transformer is essentially split in half, with one component attached to an EV while the second part is put in a charging station.

When an electric car is parked within a few feet of the base charging unit, the recharging energy flows from the station to the vehicle’s battery – no plug or cord necessary.

Despite the current being transferred from the station to the car, Hough emphasized that no electricity actually flows in the space between the devices – meaning you won’t be zapped if you wander even directly between the two components.

“All you do is drive in your garage, you drive into a parking space, get out of your car and go into the store or go into your home,” Hough said. “There’s no user involvement. Everything is done automatically.”

Hough said the transformer technology used with Plugless Power is far from revolutionary – in fact it dates back more than 100 years.

But Evatran’s skill, Hough said, is in customizing transformers to make the new charging systems work.

Ideally, Hough said, Evatran will convince a car company to include its system in every vehicle it produces.

“We see ourselves moving towards working with big-time car manufacturers as far as actually getting the piece designed into a vehicle,” she said.

She added, though, that the system could also be sold to individuals who could later install the component after purchasing an EV. Plugless Power works with any EV model.

The base charging units, Hough said, will also be marketed to both individuals and businesses and local governments that want to provide charging stations for their customers or residents, respectively.

Although they haven’t determined exact prices yet, Hough said Evatran’s goal is to make its system affordable enough for every household to purchase a base unit.

“We really think a lot of users will see a benefit in not having to plug in, physically plug in, every day,” Hough said.

“We see it as a luxury,” she added about charging without using a cord. “But as far as costs? No. Not a luxury.”

The company plans to unveil prototypes of its charging station around Wytheville this December.

Hough said exact locations haven’t been finalized, but that at least 10 base units will be installed in prominent public places around town.

The Evatran management team plans to drive electric cars equipped with the company’s system around town and use the units to recharge. Hough also pointed out that Tomberlin EVs, low-speed electric cars sold by Huff Ford and owned by a few people in Wytheville, could also be equipped with Evatran’s system and use the charging stations.

The company will also be giving away an electric car at the “Squeal and Peal” event scheduled to be held on Oct. 3 in Elizabeth Brown Park.

Most importantly, though, Hough said just seeing the stations around Wytheville will help people begin to get comfortable with the devices.

“The best thing we can do at this point is really get some of those stations out there and just start people wondering: OK what is that?” Hough said.

For now, businesses will pay for the electricity used to recharge vehicles at the units. In the future, Hough said public units could be equipped with places to swipe a credit card and users would be charged based on the number of kilowatt hours they use to recharge.

At current costs, Hough said an electric vehicle uses 3 cents/mile in electricity, while a gas-powered car uses 10 cents/mile in fuel.

Even when factoring in additional emissions used to generate electricity, Hough said EVs also are expected to be much better for the environment than cars that burn fossil fuels.

Hough cited supporting conservation, saving money and reducing dependence on foreign oil as the three main reasons most people find electric cars appealing.

While Evatran hopes its charging system will help make EVs even more popular, Hough acknowledged that the company’s success hinges on manufacturers and consumers embracing electric vehicles in the coming years.

“The most difficult thing about this industry is we are completely dependent on if EVs are really picked up by the United States and by the world even,” she said.

But Hough and the other Evatran leaders are confident that EVs are on their way to ubiquity rather than oblivion.

Hough said Evatran hopes to become a stand-alone company within the next few months and is committed to keeping its operations in Wytheville.

If things go as planned, she said the company will create numerous new local jobs in everything from manufacturing to engineering.

“We do see this as a potentially huge new venture for us, especially with our system,” she said. “Growth within the next five years could have substantial employment opportunities.”

Even in the last six months, Hough said the overall EV industry has grown by leaps and bounds.

CEO Tom Hough said he and his colleagues have been thinking about developing a company like Evatran and a system like Plugless Power for years. Only now, though, are they convinced that the market for electric vehicles is ready to take off.

“I think probably it’s time has come,” he said. “Come back next year and we’ll find out if we were right or not.”

Nate Hubbard can be reached at 228-6611 or