Michael Van Steenburg

Utilizing creativity and AI powered technology development to lead the design, engineering, prototyping and development of three unique electric motor technologies for the traction motor market, drone/VTOL markets and marine markets. Developed the company Intellectual Property based on my 25 years of electric motor development for other electric motor company clients/employers. Bringing to market the first motors that exceed the performance of rare-earth magnet motors with non-rare-earth magnets. Leading the development of complete magnet-free motors. Leading the development of transverse flux motors. Leading the company to secure State grants and Accelerator grants to help commercialize the unique technologies. Leading the company to secure the Pre-Seed investment round and early customers who want to control their product destiny by having their motors Made in the USA at a fraction of the cost of foreign competitor motors. Leading the company in utilizing AI for assisting in developing advanced technologies for electromechanical systems with a focus on Prompt Engineering.

Serving as Chief Innovation Officer, CTO and Chief Engineer and utilizing AI prompt engineering to lead the company in developing advanced technology products including consumer products, electric vehicle design, engineering, prototyping, securing supply chains and general product development. - Led the design, engineering, prototyping and development of a fully off-grid portable habitat and helped the client successfully raise their Seed Round and fabricated and deployed their Alpha and Beta units. - Led the design, engineering, prototyping and development of a portable energy storage system that utilizes repurposed EV battery packs in their entirety for emergency first responders and commercial applications including remote EV fast charging. - Spun out a new electric motor company that does not have to utilize rare-earth magnets and that has a torque density of 17.5 Nm/kg with higher efficiency than the best direct drive rare-earth motors. - Led the design, engineering, prototyping and development of an EV battery pack utilizing blade cells. - Led the design, engineering, prototyping and development of a Class 6 EV Medium duty truck that utilized a hybrid composite and cast aluminum chassis with complete Drive-by-Wire systems. - Led the design, engineering and development of an EV UTV (Side-by-Side) platform. - Leading the adoption and expansion of additive manufacturing with large and very large format 3D printers. - Responsible for Intellectual Property generation for the company and many of its clients. - Helped the company secure approximately $500,000 in State Grants. - Leading a team of up to 24 people in engineering, fabrication, assembly and design utilizing the principles of Design for Manufacturing and Assembly. - Leading the launch of Artificial Intelligence assisted product development and technology development.

Worked with Veolectra to design, engineer, prototype and develop the company's flagship product and helped the company secure multiple grants and close it's first investment round.

Led the new effort into electrification for internal and external OEM programs that are focused on Autonomous Vehicles, Electric Vehicles, Hybrid Vehicles and Performance EV Variants for OEMs. High performance electric motor drive development. High performance battery pack systems. Advanced electric vehicle design, engineering and development. Innovative electric and electronic systems. Complete vehicle design, engineering, prototyping and development.

Leading a multi-disciplinary team of PhD, Senior and Junior electrical, mechanical and supply chain engineers in developing a cutting-edge electric motor and controller technology for the automotive, e-Mobility and industrial markets. Leading the team to create an agile and flexible manufacturing plan, process and layout to be able to scale from hundreds of drivetrains per month to thousands of drivetrains per month. Leading the creation and development of the company IoT and connected device efforts. Leading the management of intellectual property creation and development by working to keep the company ahead of potential competitors in the advanced electric motor drives technology space. Key team member in securing an approximately $70 Million tax credit grant from the City of Fort Worth for creating a Center of Manufacturing Excellence that focuses on creating the most advanced Industry 4.0 EV motor and controller drivetrain manufacturing technology. Key team member in securing several rounds of investment from both private and venture capital investors. Working closely with the Business Development and Sales team in developing proposals and program timelines for new OEM customers. Successfully developed the key motor architecture utilizing DFMA processes and principles to accommodate both manual and automated Industry 4.0 manufacturing processes.

Led the team effort to design, engineer and prototype the new motor architecture from a clean sheet of paper to running motors in 10 weeks. Led the effort to transform the company technology into a novel electric motor architecture that focuses on Design for Manufacturing and Design for Assembly. Led the effort to develop a modular and scalable electric motor that can be fully manufactured and assembled completely by robots.

Led the start-up company in the clean technology space focusing on Flywheel Energy Storage Systems (FESS) for Electric Vehicle rapid charging stations, remote power delivery for emergency disaster response services and utility grid power management. Developed a unique energy storage concept that is integrated with a microgrid and larger grid to fully optimize the energy transfer to and from electric vehicles. Led the transition for the largest Marine EV fleet in North America to a new electric outboard motor drive and lithium battery system solution. Instrumental in leading the company to win the Clean Tech Challenge Mexico 2017 to become Mexico's #1 Green Technology Company and became a finalist in the COINS 2018 Grand Challenge.

Led the technical management of the company in the design, engineering and development of unique Switched Reluctance electric motor drives for industrial pumps and electric vehicle drivetrains. Established the supply chain, developed the specialized workforce and created 15 patents for the company in the areas of unique electric motor drives and pumps. Reliax Motores is a subsidiary of the RuhrPumpen Group, a global manufacturer of pumps for industrial applications.

Specialized in developing advanced composite vehicle chassis structures, advanced electric motor drive systems, nickel-zinc battery systems and lead acid bipolar battery systems. Managed several vehicle product development programs for OEM customers along with the establishment of associated manufacturing processes, supply chains and intellectual property development.

Designed, engineered and prototyped advanced composite concept automobiles and components. Developed advanced composite military programs as well. Customers included several automotive OEMs and defense contractors. Developed advanced composite structures for the automotive industry along with hybrid electric and pure electric drive trains.

The only graduate student in the UT System to be allowed to start dual degrees simultaneously in Mechanical Engineering and Business Administration. Unable to finish the degrees because of work schedule.