Californian start - up EtaGen , founded by former Tesla mechanical engineer Shannon Miller , has raised $ 83 million in series C funding from AEP , Centrica , and the venture arm of Statoil , bringing total funding to $ 133 m . EtaGen has developed a " linear generator " , a piston - free engine that it said uses a low - temperature reaction of air and fuel to generate magnets through copper wires and efficiently produce electricity . The latest funding will be used to further develop the engine .
Californian start-up EtaGen, founded by former Tesla mechanical engineer Shannon Miller, has raised $83m in series C funding from AEP, Centrica, and the venture arm of Statoil, bringing total funding to $133m. EtaGen has developed a "linear generator", a piston-free engine that it said uses a low-temperature reaction of air and fuel to drive magnets through copper coils and efficiently produce electricity. The latest funding will be used to help commercialise the technology.