When we introduced our first product in 2010, we understood that 80% of EV charging happens where vehicles are parked for several hours.  For that reason, we elected to focus on creating charging solutions for workplaces, schools, apartments and condos.  Over the past 4 years, our HYDRA™ EV Charger Controller has been selected by large utilities, corporations, universities, municipalities and condo associations to provide charging services to their employees, tenants, visitors, and guests.  There are nearly 150 HYDRA systems operating in the US and Canada controlling about 1250 daily charging sessions.

EV car sales are accelerating and are forecasted to exceed gasoline-powered cars over the next 20 years, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance (https://about.bnef.com/electric-vehicle-outlook/).  The focus has now shifted to the medium duty vans and buses that account for 30% of transportation sector greenhouse gas emissions. Electrifying these vehicles is essential and nowhere is this more urgent than school buses that today are 95% diesel powered. Whether riding the bus or playing near them, children are exposed to high levels of diesel exhaust that contributes to respiratory illnesses and is internationally recognized as a carcinogen.  Liberty is poised to play a pivotal role in the important and necessary transition to electric buses.

Our patented HYDRA-R EV Charger Controller is a smart gateway that combines access control, metering, reporting, and load management capabilities in one device.  A single HYDRA Controller can turn 10 low cost, basic chargers into networked “smart” chargers that are less expensive, more reliable, and more secure than those offered by other EV charging companies.  Unlike typical network chargers and simple gateways, the Hydra’s powerful single-board computer enables it to continue operating in the event of loss of internet or cellular connections, a vital concern for fleet operators.

HYDRA-R Controller, Code Keypad and EV Chargers

HYDRA can control both AC Fast Chargers and normal Level 2 chargers in any combination, giving owners the flexibility to meet unexpected demands. HYDRA owners and administrators are able to control all aspects of their charging operations from their HYDRA Dashboard.  Operators are able to create and issue personal identification numbers (PINs) for employees and tenants, set system output limits to avoid costly peak demand charges and generate usage reports to claim Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) Credits.  All of this for network service fees that are far less than those of competing network operators.

Faster AC Charge Times: Based on our research, the HYDRA is the only EV charging control system to offer AC Fast Charging with 19.2kW output, which provides the best value when charging  electric school buses and medium duty electric trucks.  Our product cost is a fraction of that of DC Fast Chargers.

Greater Security: The WiFi network chargers used by our competitors can be hacked, so customers requiring a high level of security appreciate the extra level of security provided by the HYDRA.

Cost Saving Load Management:  When you charge your EVs can be more important than how much electricity you use. Utilities put higher prices on electricity consumed during periods of high demand like cold winter mornings and hot summer evenings. Our load management features help customers avoid these demand charges by scheduling charging when power is less expensive or produced from more renewable sources like solar and wind. This enables our customers to manage their carbon emissions along with their costs.

Access Control

The Hydra allows business owners to control who can access their chargers, often with the same HID prox card or fob that is already used for their parking gates or security doors.   Alternatively, drivers can start their charging session using PINs via the Hydra’s keypad, remotely through our website, or with our HYDRA smartphone app.

Mixed Public/Private Use

For HYDRA owners who want to allow the general public to use their charging stations, Liberty's HYDRA app allows drivers to purchase charging sessions with their phone using Liberty’s optional PayByMobile billing service.

Billing Services

Business owners and property managers use access control and pricing to help defray their costs and to ensure their stations are available to employees and tenants.  Liberty offers two optional billing programs: DIY Billing, where owners run simple usage reports and bill drivers themselves or Direct Billing, where Liberty bills tenants or employees on the business owners' behalf.

Currently almost 150 HYDRA systems are in operation across the U.S. and Canada, powering some of the largest employee charging networks in the country such as Los Angeles County, San Diego Gas & Electric, and Bristol-Myers Squibb.  We also have systems installed at major corporations like Unilever, Campbell's Soup and Dow Jones, along with several educational institutions such as the University of California Los Angeles, California State University,  Cal State Fresno and the College of New Jersey.

Cushman and Wakefield, one of the largest commercial real estate operators in the world, just selected our HYDRA system so their employees and tenants can use the same HID prox card they use to access parking and buildings to charge their electric vehicles. Now Liberty is working with electric bus makers Lion Electric and Blue Bird to offer HYDRA-RX to their customers.  Similar sales relationships are being formed with other bus and truck OEMs like Daimler Trucks NA and Mitsubishi Fuso, who recently released their eCanter electric delivery truck. Every fleet that purchases electric buses and trucks will need to install charging systems and the HYDRA-RX is becoming the "go to" charging system for this market.

As reported in the Washington Post, environmental and health organizations from around the country are calling on school districts to replace "dirty diesel" buses with electric ones and California is leading the way.* The California Energy Commission recently allocated $70 million for their Electric School Bus Replacement program and another $13 million for charging infrastructure to districts across the state.*  To support this conversion, the California Public Utilities Commission has directed California’s three largest utilities to create programs that pay for up to 70% of charging system installation costs.** The combined funding has California schools dramatically accelerating their fleet conversion timetables.

*https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/tripping/wp/2018/05/04/time-to-switch-to-electric-school-buses-to-save-the-planet-and-money-group-says/

*https://www.energy.ca.gov/programs-and-topics/programs/school-bus-replacement-program

**https://www.cpuc.ca.gov/zevChargingInfrastructure.aspx

https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/nsta/6571/Yellow-School-Bus-Industry-White-Paper.pdf

Since our inception in 2009, Liberty has been envisioning and working toward a future of clean electric transportation.  Over the years we have built up a strong patent portfolio in EV charging and access control technology.

We believe EV charging demand is rapidly growing as prices of electric vehicles continue to drop and sales expand into the mass market.  Rapid expansion of electric buses and fleets is our next big push.  With our patented Hydra system providing a more robust and cost effective charging solution, Liberty finds itself poised to become a major player in this fast growing market.

In order to best capitalize on this opportunity, we are expanding our ownership, from the small group of angel investors that have supported us from the beginning, to new investors via the StartEngine crowdfunding platform.

We are developing targeted sales and marketing campaigns with the EV vehicle makers and their dealers to drive awareness of the role that the charging system plays in maximizing the operational performance and cost savings of electric vehicles.  We are also working closely with major utilities who are subsidizing the creation of more fleet charging infrastructure at the direction of their state utility commissions.  As the EV fleet conversion movement expands across the country Liberty intends to be at the forefront.  

The funds raised on StartEngine will help us to advance our marketing program for EV school bus chargers.  We will also want to add to our operations team to help manage our growing number of deployments and increase our manufacturing capabilities to keep up with demand.

With our expected growth from these new markets and our already growing network of installed chargers providing a recurring revenue stream from existing customers, we believe Liberty is well positioned to either become a public company and thus provide our investors with liquidity, or be acquired as the EV charging industry continues to consolidate.