“What’s your Doc Brown moment where your hair stood on end and you realized you built something, or could build something, pretty incredible?” This has been a 10-year journey, and it’s been anything but a straight line. I started @Hyliion while I was still in school, originally focused on electrifying Class 8 trucks. We went public on the @NYSE in 2020, and that’s ultimately what led GE to reach out to us. They had a Skunk Works team developing a new form of power generation and saw a potential fit with what we were building. We eventually acquired the KARNO™ technology from GE, and as the electric semi-truck market changed, we made the decision to pivot and go all-in on power generation.

“How do you approach the design of these systems? Has that been an in-house capability, or has that been a collaboration with third parties?” It’s really been an in-house effort... Our engineering team is led by CTO Josh Mook, who was one of the founding members behind the KARNO™ technology at GE. He built a team with deep experience across aerospace and additive manufacturing, and that team came over to Hyliion as part of the acquisition. Today, they’re designing the core components of the KARNO™ system in-house.

“Wait, it’s actually cheaper to make my own electricity after the price of the KARNO™ system? Can I ask what the pricing is of these units? Are they a standard size? You said you can stack them.” We’ve modeled the economics across every U.S. state, comparing average grid electricity prices with the cost of natural gas to generate power on site. In every state we analyzed, generating power on site came out cheaper. The payback is typically in the low single-digit number of years. For data centers, the value is often getting power quickly and behind the meter. For commercial buildings, it’s a business decision: is it cheaper to make your own electricity? Our analysis says yes.

“What does the product roadmap look like beyond the 200 kW KARNO™ Power Module?” The 200 kW system is designed for commercial applications, one could power a Home Depot, while roughly two could power a Walmart Supercenter. For larger applications like data centers, we’ve designed modular 2.4 MW and 3.2 MW systems. A 3.2 MW unit is built from 16 of our 200 kW systems working together, allowing customers to scale power generation as their needs grow. That modular approach also aligns with our additive manufacturing process, helping us optimize production while using the same core architecture. From hundreds of kilowatts to tens of megawatts, the goal is to make KARNO™ scalable.

“So how does it work?” We’re not violating physics... The KARNO™ system takes in a fuel, natural gas, diesel, propane, hydrogen, ammonia, and others, and uses it to create heat. That heat expands trapped helium inside the system. We then cool the helium so it compresses, heat it again so it expands, and repeat that cycle roughly 20 times per second. That expansion and compression creates motion, which drives a linear electric motor and generates electricity. So yes, it’s an engine, but it works very differently from a traditional combustion engine.

“What are the key capabilities of the KARNO™ tech, and what does the technology actually enable customers to do?” At a high level, it gives customers the ability to generate their own electricity on site instead of being entirely reliant on the grid. Think about a commercial building. Most facilities already have a large air conditioning unit sitting on the roof or outside the building. Our vision is similar for power generation: a system sitting on site, supplied by whatever fuel is available, producing the electricity that facility needs.

“What are the key capabilities of the KARNO™ tech, and what does the technology actually enable customers to do?” At a high level, it gives customers the ability to generate their own electricity on site instead of being entirely reliant on the grid. Think about a commercial building. Most facilities already have a large air conditioning unit sitting on the roof or outside the building. Our vision is similar for power generation: a system sitting on site, supplied by whatever fuel is available, producing the electricity that facility needs.

“What exactly did @Hyliion acquire from GE in 2022, and how mature was the KARNO™ technology at the time?” When we acquired KARNO™, the technology had already gone through roughly three generations of prototypes, but it was not yet ready for commercial applications. GE had been developing the technology since around 2017. Since the acquisition, our team has continued iterating on the design, bringing it through another generation or two to get to the commercial product we’re bringing to market today.

“What exactly did @Hyliion acquire from GE in 2022, and how mature was the KARNO™ technology at the time?” When we acquired KARNO™, the technology had already gone through roughly three generations of prototypes, but it was not yet ready for commercial applications. GE had been developing the technology since around 2017. Since the acquisition, our team has continued iterating on the design, bringing it through another generation or two to get to the commercial product we’re bringing to market today.

How much force does it take to move the piston inside Hyliion’s KARNO™ generator? About 4,000 pounds, that’s roughly the weight of an elephant.

One of the more underrated features of the KARNO™ Power Module is how simple it is to manage. The control and user interface is built right onto the unit. Starting up, checking system status, and adjusting operation all happen from a single touchscreen. Advanced power generation doesn’t have to be complicated to operate.

@Hyliion just shared a look at the KARNO™ Power Module’s full startup sequence, from cold start to fully operational in a matter of minutes. One operator can run the entire process with ease and has full visibility into each phase as the system ramps up. Watch the startup:

Exciting news from Texas… I’m pleased to announce that @Hyliion is now dual listed on NYSE Texas. In addition to trading on NYSE American, our shares will now also trade on NYSE Texas. As a company headquartered in Austin, we’re proud to support an exchange based right here in our home state. Texas is where we’re building, growing, and investing in the future, and we’re glad to mark this next chapter close to home. bit.ly/4rnrYHr

Founder + CEO of @Hyliion @ThomasHealyCEO discusses the economic evolution of its home state that led to their double listing on NYSE Texas and NYSE American.

“If the Navy trusts you, does that make it easier for you to sell into the enterprise, to sell to corporate customers?” Here’s what I had to say 🗣️

@Hyliion just shared a look at the KARNO™ Power Module’s full startup sequence, from cold start to fully operational in a matter of minutes. One operator can run the entire process with ease and has full visibility into each phase as the system ramps up. Watch the startup: