Achates Power

About Achates Power

Achates Power, established in 2004, is a developer of opposed-piston internal combustion engines engineered for enhanced fuel efficiency and reduced emissions at a lower cost. The company was founded by Dr. James Lemke, a physicist and serial entrepreneur with over 100 patents, and the late John Walton. Dr. Lemke's vision was to revitalize the opposed-piston, two-stroke engine architecture—a concept dating back to the 1930s—by applying modern engineering tools and technology to overcome its historical limitations. His background as a practical physicist who had previously founded and sold several successful tech companies provided the foundation for tackling this complex engineering challenge.

The company's core product is an opposed-piston (OP) engine design, which features two pistons per cylinder moving in opposite directions. This configuration eliminates the need for cylinder heads and valvetrains, which are significant sources of heat loss and friction in conventional engines. The benefits of this design include a substantial improvement in fuel efficiency, with demonstrations showing up to a 30% gain over leading diesel engines, lower manufacturing costs, and reduced greenhouse gas and criteria pollutant emissions. The engines are designed to be scalable for a variety of applications and can operate on multiple fuels, including diesel, gasoline, natural gas, and hydrogen.

Achates Power operates on a dual revenue stream model. It provides engineering and design services to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), helping them develop and integrate OP engines for their specific applications. Secondly, the company licenses its portfolio of proprietary technology, which includes designs, development tools, software, and patents, earning a royalty for each engine manufactured by its licensees. The company targets clients across several key markets: passenger vehicles, medium- and heavy-duty commercial vehicles, military vehicles, and off-road/power generation. Notable collaborations include projects with the U.S. Army and a demonstration with Walmart where a 10.6L OP engine in a Peterbilt truck met stringent 2027 emissions regulations from both the EPA and the California Air Resources Board (CARB).

Since its inception, Achates Power has secured significant funding from venture capital firms, including Sequoia Capital, RockPort Capital Partners, and Triangle Peak Partners, alongside grants from organizations like the Department of Energy. The company has built and tested numerous prototype engines, validating the technology through thousands of hours of dynamometer testing. These efforts have resulted in a robust intellectual property portfolio with hundreds of patents, positioning Achates Power as an enabling technology provider for the future of transportation.