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Print Edition StoriesMonday, June 7, 2010
Levant Power working on Army deal for regenerative shock absorber
By Kyle Alspach
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Cambridge-based Levant Power Corp. is in talks to provide its regenerative automobile suspension technology to the U.S. Army, according to a New York Times article.
The company is developing what it says is a new type of shock absorber, which would take wasted energy from a bouncing and gyrating vehicle and turn it into useful electric power. Levant says the device, dubbed the GenShock, could lower fuel consumption by 1 to 6 percent.
The device is the first regenerative shock absorber that holds the promise of being installed in existing suspension systems, according to the New York Times article. Levant expects the product to be available in the second quarter of 2011. The company previously said the device was in testing with AM General LLC, the maker of military Humvee vehicles.
According to the Times, a retired Army Lieutenant General, who has assisted Levant in holding discussions with the Army, said the GenShock might help the Army to power its communication and weapons systems on combat vehicles.
In May, Levant announced that it had appointed retired U.S. Navy Vice Admiral Walter Massenburg to its board of directors. The appointment came “in recognition of Admiral Massenburg’s extensive background in Department of Defense acquisition,” Levant said in a news release at the time. The company also said it had signed multiple strategic deals, including with military equipment industries, which were not named.
Levant says it has raised two rounds of funding – one in May, which was not disclosed in a news release. Last October, the company reported in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it had raised $400,000 of a $500,000 equity financing round.
The company was founded in 2008 by CEO Shakeel Avadhany, COO Zack Anderson and vice president of sales and marketing Vladimir Tarasov — all recent graduates of MIT — as a student project.
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