Intramotev: Funding Rounds, Investors & CEO

About Intramotev

Intramotev makes TugVolt, a retrofit kit that turns an ordinary freight railcar into an electric car that moves by itself. The kit adds motors, batteries and a sensor system, so the car needs no locomotive. Railroads use it for yard switching, short shuttle runs and extra power on long trains. Plants, mines and terminals use it to move cars on their own track.

Intramotev is based in St. Louis and was founded in 2020 by Tim Luchini, Corey Vasel and Alex Peiffer. Luchini is the chief executive. Intramotev's cars have moved about 600,000 tons of freight over 12,000 miles. Its customers include Watco, R.J. Corman and Carmeuse Americas. In 2026 it also signed a deal with Austria's ÖBB Rail Cargo Group, and the U.S. Army tested its railcar.

Funding Rounds (SEC Form D)

First sale	Filed with SEC	Amount sold	Investors	Avg. check	Terms	Filing
Nov 5, 2025	Nov 20, 2025amended Oct 27, 2026	$10,725,724of $20.0M target	36	$297K	Equity, OptionsRule 506(b)	Form D/A ↗2 earlier filings
Apr 24, 2024	May 6, 2024amended Aug 19, 2024	$14,354,594fully sold	21	$683K	EquityRule 506(b)	Form D/A ↗1 earlier filing
Aug 26, 2022	Sep 12, 2022	$6,487,000of $6.6M target	14	$463K	EquityRule 506(b)	Form D ↗
Total, three offerings		$31,567,318

First sale is the date the first investor in the offering committed to invest. Companies must file Form D within 15 days of that date, so filing dates run later.

What the SEC Filings Show

Ray Betler first appears as a director on the amended Form D that Intramotev filed on October 27, 2026. [12]
Series A began taking money on April 24, 2024, about 3.7 months before the announcement. The Form D filed on August 19, 2024 shows $14.4 million sold, the full offering, from 21 investors, or about $683.6 thousand each. [23]
Anna Palmer first appears as a director on the Form D that Intramotev filed on May 6, 2024. [22]
Form D filings that name Anna Palmer (10):
- Fashion Project, chief Executive Officer and director: Oct 23, 2014 · Sep 17, 2015
- Dough Collective, secretary and director: Feb 21, 2019
- Returnalyze, director: Nov 4, 2022
- MelodyArc, director: Dec 30, 2022
- Intramotev, director: May 6, 2024 · Aug 19, 2024 (amended) · Nov 20, 2025 · May 5, 2026 (amended) · Oct 27, 2026 (amended)
Aubrie Pagano of Alpaca VC, which co-led the Series A round, first appears as a director on the Form D that Intramotev filed on May 6, 2024. [22][9][5]
Form D filings that name Aubrie Pagano (9):
- Bow & Drape, president, Chief Executive Officer and Director: Jul 5, 2016
- Optiversal, director: Apr 24, 2023 · May 13, 2025
- Intramotev, director: May 6, 2024 · Aug 19, 2024 (amended) · Nov 20, 2025 · May 5, 2026 (amended) · Oct 27, 2026 (amended)
- Applied Atomics, director: Apr 14, 2026
Corey Vasel was last listed as a director on the Form D that Intramotev filed on September 12, 2022. [24]
Form D filings that name Corey Vasel (6):
- Intramotev, co-founder: Sep 12, 2022 · May 6, 2024 · Aug 19, 2024 (amended) · Nov 20, 2025 · May 5, 2026 (amended) · Oct 27, 2026 (amended)

Who Invested in Intramotev

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Announced	Round	Amount	Lead	Other investors	On the Form D	Source
Sep 11, 2024	Investment	Undisclosed	—	Behind Genius Ventures		[7]
Aug 15, 2024	Series A	$14.4 million	Flybridge Capital Partners; Alpaca VC	Advantage Capital, Aera VC, Band VC, Cantos, Cathcart Rail, Collide Capital, Decisive Point, Idealab Arizona	First sale Apr 24, 2024; $14,354,594 of $14,354,594 from 21 investors. [23]	[5]
Nov 4, 2021	Investment	Undisclosed	—	Idealab X		[6]

Announced amounts can differ from Form D figures: an announcement can combine several closings, and some money is raised without a Form D.

Why Investors Backed Intramotev

In 2021, up to 900,000 of 1.6 million active U.S. railcars sat still daily, while loaded cars waited 24.6 hours per trip leg for locomotives. Behind Genius Ventures also cited crew shortages and rail infrastructure averaging more than 40 years old. The investors chose Intramotev for its founding team's technical talent, rail knowledge and existing high-value orders. [6][7]

“We've heard from customers again and again that they want freight solutions that don't compromise on efficiency, speed, or flexibility.”

Tim Luchini · chief executive officer, Intramotev · Series A announcement led by Flybridge Capital Partners and Alpaca VC; the chief executive describes customer demand. [5]

Origin and Team

Tim Luchini, Corey Vasel and Alex Peiffer founded Intramotev in St. Louis in 2020. Peiffer's USC Marshall discussions about electric and autonomous rail helped form the idea. Idealab NY incubated the company. [6][13]

Tim Luchini earned a doctorate in mechanical engineering and spent six years on mobility technology at Boeing. His Boeing work included flying cars and package-delivery drones. [7][13]

Alex Peiffer earned an MBA from USC Marshall in 2020. He served in the Air Force Reserve and worked in aviation logistics. He later spent one year as a Nestle associate brand manager. [7][13]

Corey Vasel worked in Boeing's materials and physics division. [7]

Product and Technology

TugVolt retrofits a standard freight railcar with motors, batteries and a sensing system. The car then moves on existing track without a locomotive or new infrastructure. For switching and local service, it avoids tying up a road locomotive or full crew. TugVolts are in commercial service with Watco, R.J. Corman and Carmeuse Americas. [2]

The lower-speed Gen2 kit uses a 266-kilowatt-hour battery and provides 16,400 pounds-force of tractive effort. It pulls 10 cars, travels up to 300 miles and reaches 12 miles per hour. Its kit weighs 7,500 pounds. The faster Gen3 kit uses the same battery and provides 25,900 pounds-force. It pulls 16 cars, travels up to 300 miles and reaches 60 miles per hour. Its kit weighs 10,200 pounds. Either kit can recharge in one hour. Pulling and range figures assume 286,000-pound cars on flat, dry track. [2]

Every software package includes collision avoidance, live operating data and remote emergency stopping. Manual mode gives an operator direct control of braking and throttle. Full Autonomy adds automated trips, coupling and air-brake testing. Fleet Autonomy adds simultaneous train control, dispatch tools and train-to-train safety. [2]

ReVolt is an electric railcar designed to be pulled by a locomotive. [7]

TugVolt deployments have moved about 600,000 tons over 12,000 service miles. Home-page counters show 634,350 tons, 8,721 carloads and 11,612 miles. [3][1]

At Carmeuse Americas, three TugVolts and three standard railcars form a six-car set for calcium carbonate in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. The set runs 16-hour days without diesel. Intramotev estimates yearly savings of 3,000 gallons of fuel and $300,000 in operating costs. [3]

Use of Funds

The Series A financed further customer deployments in the United States and other countries. [5]
The Idealab X investment financed faster development of a commercial demonstration vehicle and Intramotev's rail autonomy software. [6]

Milestones

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Date	What happened	Source	Coverage
Jul 22, 2026	Chief executive Tim Luchini was named a rail industry “Rising Star.”	[4]	—
Jun 30, 2026	An Intramotev self-driving railcar moved real military cargo during a U.S. Army Reserve exercise after unplanned loads arrived.	[4]	Defence Blog ↗
Apr 27, 2026	Intramotev agreed with Austria's ÖBB Rail Cargo Group on the first foreign use of TugVolt railcars.	[4]	—
Mar 30, 2026	Intramotev agreed to deploy TugVolt railcars for industrial switching on R.J. Corman's Memphis Line.	[4]	Trains ↗
Mar 13, 2026	Former Wabtec chief executive Ray Betler joined Intramotev as an independent director.	[4]	Trains ↗
Sep 16, 2025	Watco agreed to deploy TugVolt at its transload terminal in Wood River, Illinois.	[4]	Trains ↗
Jun 11, 2025	Intramotev added a retired two-star general as an adviser while pursuing government and defense work.	[4]	—
Aug 15, 2024	ReVolt had completed 5,000 miles at Iron Senergy's Cumberland Mine.	[5]	—
Aug 15, 2024	Intramotev planned another deployment at a Carmeuse Americas calcium mine later that year.	[5]	—
Jun 6, 2023	Intramotev finalized an agreement to provide three ReVolt railcars to Iron Senergy's Cumberland Mine.	[15]	—
May 11, 2023	Michigan's Office of Future Mobility and Electrification awarded Intramotev a $200,000 grant.	[15]	—
Feb 3, 2022	Intramotev was building a prototype called TugVolt.	[13]	—
Feb 3, 2022	A customer had signed a letter of intent for a $30 million fleet.	[13]	—
Nov 4, 2021	Investor Allen Morgan was set to join Intramotev's board.	[6]	—
Nov 4, 2021	Cathcart Rail founder Casey Cathcart joined Intramotev as a strategic adviser.	[6]	—

Market

Andy Sran and Paige Doherty of Behind Genius Ventures point to the 0.84% electrification rate of U.S. railways. They view that gap as room for electric freight systems to expand. [7]

We wrote this summary from public statements by Intramotev and its investors. It is not investment advice.