# Retrofitting a Billion Cars to Hybrid EVs to Impact Climate Change with Tom Gurski, Founder and CEO of Blue Dot Motorworks

- Show: [Hardware to Save a Planet](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet)
- Published: 2023-02-02
- Length: 48m
- Episode: 19
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2023-02-02-retrofitting-a-billion-cars-to-hybrid-evs-to-impact-climate-change-with-tom-gurs
- Listen: https://podcasts.fame.so/e/183ly32n-tom-gurski-retrofitting-billion-cars-to-hybrid-evs

## Summary

Tom Gurski, Founder and CEO of Blue Dot Motorworks, explains his company's universal hardware kits that convert existing gas vehicles into plug-in hybrids. He details the 'Narwhal' and 'Humpback' product families, the engineering challenges of vehicle-agnostic design, and the business case for retrofitting over pure EV adoption to meet climate targets. Gurski also discusses the company's seed fundraising goals, target fleet customers, and the potential for carbon credit monetization.

## Chapters

- [0:03](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2023-02-02-retrofitting-a-billion-cars-to-hybrid-evs-to-impact-climate-change-with-tom-gurs#t=3) Introduction and Synapse Background
- [8:39](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2023-02-02-retrofitting-a-billion-cars-to-hybrid-evs-to-impact-climate-change-with-tom-gurs#t=519) The Case for Retrofitting and Fleet Turnover
- [13:50](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2023-02-02-retrofitting-a-billion-cars-to-hybrid-evs-to-impact-climate-change-with-tom-gurs#t=830) Embodied Carbon and Lifecycle Analysis
- [18:44](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2023-02-02-retrofitting-a-billion-cars-to-hybrid-evs-to-impact-climate-change-with-tom-gurs#t=1124) Blue Dot's Universal Retrofit Approach
- [31:30](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2023-02-02-retrofitting-a-billion-cars-to-hybrid-evs-to-impact-climate-change-with-tom-gurs#t=1890) Hardware Architecture: Narwhal and Humpback
- [34:43](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2023-02-02-retrofitting-a-billion-cars-to-hybrid-evs-to-impact-climate-change-with-tom-gurs#t=2083) Development, Prototyping, and Team
- [40:44](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2023-02-02-retrofitting-a-billion-cars-to-hybrid-evs-to-impact-climate-change-with-tom-gurs#t=2444) Scaling, Funding, and Carbon Markets
- [44:41](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hardware-to-save-a-planet/2023-02-02-retrofitting-a-billion-cars-to-hybrid-evs-to-impact-climate-change-with-tom-gurs#t=2681) Climate Optimism and Nuclear Power

## Topics

- [Energy & climate tech](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/energy-and-climate-tech)
- [Mechanical engineering](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/mechanical-engineering)
- [Batteries & low-power design](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/batteries-and-low-power)
- [Scaling production](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/scaling-production)
- [Fundraising & investors](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/fundraising)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Blue Dot Motorworks (company)
- Synapse (company)
- Bill and Linda Gates Foundation (company)
- Narwhal (product)
- Humpback (product)
- Lithium iron phosphate (material)
- Tesla (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [85. The Future of EVs: Hydrogen Hybrids and Plug & Play Platform](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-next-byte-podcast/2022-08-30-85-the-future-of-evs-hydrogen-hybrids-and-plug-play-platform) (The Next Byte Podcast)
- [HIBT Lab! Universal Hydrogen: Paul Eremenko](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2022-10-20-hibt-lab-universal-hydrogen-paul-eremenko) (How I Built This)
- [79: Not as Efficient as the Borg](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2014-12-04-79-not-as-efficient-as-the-borg) (Embedded.fm)
- [The non-Stinky Car](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2024-03-20-the-non-stinky-car) (The Amp Hour)
- [Road to Rail: Slashing Costs and Carbon with Automation](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robot-report-podcast/2026-01-30-road-to-rail-slashing-costs-and-carbon-with-automation) (The Robot Report Podcast)

## Citing this page

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