ENERGY
Michael Terzo and his team at Terzo Power Systems in El Dorado Hills developed an electric hydraulic pump that reduces greenhouse gas emissions from hydraulics , which are traditionally powered by petroleum . PHOTO BY FRED GREAVES
Michael Terzo has done the math . By his calculations , the electric hydraulic pump his team of 12 developed at Terzo Power Systems in El Dorado Hills can cumulatively reduce a gigaton of carbon emissions by increasing energy efficiency and reducing oil requirements by up to roughly 75 percent in vehicles and machines that use it . That ’ s the equivalent of one billion metric tons of carbon dioxide , or twice the mass of all people on Earth .
“ I can almost say that every aspect of our life is completely dependent on hydraulics and nobody knows it , which is great . … I ’ m like a kid in a candy store every day because when else would anybody be able to affect this kind of change globally ?” says Terzo , founder and CEO of Terzo Power Systems . Fluid power hydraulics , traditionally powered by petroleum , have broad applications across industrial and manufacturing machines , construction and agricultural equipment , aeronautics and the automotive industry .
Many in those industries have wanted to electrify , Terzo says , but the technology to overcome inefficiency challenges on electric platforms and diverse broad-spectrum applications simply wasn ’ t in the public domain . While companies like Tesla had already figured out the technology for the automotive industry , Terzo founded his company in 2014 to develop the technology for the off-road vehicle market from scratch .
Today , Terzo Power Systems sells its electric hydraulic pumps to the largest vehicle manufacturers in the world across North America , almost all of Europe , Australia , New Zealand and Japan , with interest from other major players such as India .
Terzo says his electrification technology is one of a handful of things that can affect the level of global emissions reductions he ’ s calculated . The technology feeds into statewide efforts to electrify mobility and buildings — the two dirtiest sectors — that contribute the majority of California ’ s
34 comstocksmag . com | December 2021