#StartupsEverywhere: Josef Hjelmaker, Founder, Electric Outdoors
This profile is part of #StartupsEverywhere, an ongoing series highlighting startup leaders in ecosystems across the country. This interview has been edited for length, content, and clarity.
Reaching the great outdoors, sustainably
The market for carbon-free, reliable energy is growing along with a rising electricity demand. Josef Hjelmaker, through his company, Electric Outdoors, plans to save millions of dollars in electrification conversion costs and make long-term access to the outdoors safer and more sustainable for all. We sat down with Josef to discuss his company, his experience raising capital in Michigan, and the recent American trade policy shifts.
Tell us about your background. What led you to Electric Outdoors?
My path to Electric Outdoors started when I left Delphi (a U.S. automotive systems manufacturer) in Germany to work for Whirlpool in the U.S. as their VP of Global Product Organization. My wife, our three children, and I moved from Munich to southwest Michigan in 2015. Then, in 2020, I started as the Chief Information Officer of THOR Industries, the world’s largest recreational vehicle (RV) manufacturer. During that time, we explored new business models to electrify the RV.
An RV is a non-essential, luxury product, and there’s only so much you can do to lower the price for ownership–we explored hypotheticals expanding the users of RV infrastructure. Through that exercise, I found obstacles to the industry. One of those major issues was a call for prioritizing sustainability in operating RVs. Even though that was my agenda, I realized change would not come from within. THOR focused more on the core product, which happens in many big corporations.
I founded Electric Outdoors to solve some of these obstacles, focusing primarily on infrastructure, unlocking new land, and making the outdoors more sustainable.
What is the work you all are doing at Electric Outdoors? Who are your users/customers?
We have built the EO Canopy, an off-grid, mobile platform that can sit anywhere in the world.. The photovoltaic (PV) cell roof powers a charging station for electric vehicles (EVs), drinking water collection by condensing water air molecules, and waste management via incineration. In short, this platform provides basic needs to anyone cut off from the electricity grid, regardless of choice or circumstance, in a sustainable fashion. This helps landowners save millions of dollars in electrification conversion costs.
Our PVs follow the sun and capture 25 to 30 percent more energy than a fixed, south-facing PV installation. All of that energy is collected and stored in batteries with anywhere from 154 to 616 kilowatt hours (or kWh) in their energy banks. These platforms will help reduce and eliminate range anxiety in EV drivers and get them to their destinations. The platforms can be used as a springboard for whatever you come to the outdoors to do, whether it's recreation or work. We even have use cases that support the marine industry, federal agencies like the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and some defense-related applications.
How has your experience been raising capital for Electric Outdoors in Michigan?
It's tough—we might not be in the best environment or the best time to raise capital. When we started about a year ago, we were fortunate to have the state of Michigan take an active interest in our work. We’re at the intersection of e-mobility and outdoor recreation, and Michigan wants to be seen as a leader in both of those areas.
We got a grant from the Michigan Economic Development Corp. Office of Future Mobility and Electrification, which helped us go from a white paper to a prototype, demonstrating feasibility. Through that work, they introduced us to our early investors. We were fortunate to have a lead investor from the original equipment manufacturer(s) world.
Raising money takes time; one of our VCs took an 18-month-long due diligence period. Even though I am slightly different from many other founders, I already have a relationship and network, a track record in Michigan, and have been in the automotive industry for such a long time, but it's still been a long journey.
Investment opportunities in Michigan are broken down into smaller chunks among many different players, which means you need to repeat it again and again. We were blessed; we got a slightly easier ride than most people.
Do you expect the new administration’s focus on tariffs and rollbacks of prior incentives to impact the manufacturing and distribution of Electric Outdoors?
A huge impact. The return for our customers is that they are applicable for a lot of the incentives that were put in place by the previous administration. Luckily enough, some of those are bipartisan and continue to move forward.
But primarily, the investment tax credit and domestic content bonus credit are the big ones for us. We are right on the threshold of managing that because our bill of material is around $90,000, so it means we have the flexibility to manage domestic content, but the issue of country over region is always a struggle, and it's going to be an even greater struggle for us as we move forward.
Some of those policies might spur changes in supply chains. It's going to be a tough journey for many companies, including ourselves, to make that transition.
What are your goals for Electric Outdoors moving forward?
Energy demand is skyrocketing. The way forward is to continue innovating in renewables,, and energy distribution. We need to emphasize the urgency of solutions rather than excluding options based on political views.
We have been directly impacted by some of the federal grant freezes that were working together with state governments. I want our business to grow, and I want to see more incentives for companies like ours so that we can deliver a quality-priced, high-performing product that meets the public demand.
I want us to be in that position where we are continuing to grow and expand into adjacent portfolios, which only happens with the proper incentives for innovation.
All of the information in this profile was accurate at the date and time of publication.
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