Inside NEUUF's Mission to Transform Mobility with Net-Positive Energy Technology

When broken down to first principles, most vehicles have an energy efficiency problem. Every vibration, shock, and bump absorbed by a vehicle’s suspension wastes energy, discarding it as heat. 

The industry’s answer has been to add more energy, but bigger batteries mean more weight, more cost, and more redesign. While regenerative braking has become standardized, suspension energy is still being left on the table. Finding a way to capture it could fundamentally change the way we think about powering motion. 

Nicholas DeGrange first recognized this challenge and designed a potential solution while in college. Now, ten years later, he’s teamed up with co-founders Caroline Tiglao and Aaron Kohn to build NEUUF and turn the vision of net-positive energy technology for mobility into reality.

Introducing NEUUF: Giving Power Back to Motion

NEUUF is a non-invasive renewables company building modules that enable vehicles to generate energy that is otherwise wasted. 

Most attempts to improve range have proved too heavy or complex to implement. Swappable batteries increase range but add cost and infrastructure dependencies. Bolt-on rotary motors recover kinetic energy otherwise lost but have been too expensive and heavy to implement at scale. 

NEUUF is taking a different approach. The company is building the Dunamis core, a cylindrical module, ranging from the size of a boba straw to the size of a coffee cup, that replaces the internals of an existing shock, coilover, or suspension unit and converts otherwise-wasted kinetic motion into electricity. The energy created charges the battery while the vehicle is in operation, increasing range and/or providing self-powered active dampening. The module weighs about the same as the components it replaces and requires minimal changes to tooling, assembly lines, or vehicle architecture.

The core is built primarily for two-wheel and e-motorcycle companies, fleet operators seeking resilience and lower total cost of ownership, OEMs seeking differentiation, and innovators across automotive and semi-truck applications. In NEUUF’s first pilot, with premium e-motorcycle manufacturer Monday Motorbikes, the core produced a range extension of 19–36%, depending on road and riding conditions. 

Having reached TRL 7 (Technology Readiness Level 7), meaning the prototype has been validated live on a vehicle on the road rather than only in lab conditions, the team is now focused on production integration with its first commercial client.

Nicholas, Caroline, and Aaron’s Journey to NEUUF

Nicholas designed the prototype for what would later become the Dunamis core when in college. He’d had the opportunity to work in the robotics sector in Singapore and travel through Indonesia while working, where he saw first-hand how hard it was to get renewables into emerging markets. He began to explore what modular, non-invasive energy solutions could look like. After graduating, Nicholas’s interests carried him into opportunities across an array of industries both entrepreneurial and corporate alike, including the early stages of blockchain and tokenization of assets, which led him to put the project on pause.

It wasn’t until ten years later, when Nicholas met Caroline, that the concept of modular energy solutions came back to the forefront. Caroline had spent nearly two decades building and leading across consumer technology, mobility and fintech in global markets, while also growing a marketing venture of her own. After taking 18 months away from work following the birth of her first child, she returned with a clear ambition to build in technology. The two first worked together in financial services, each developing an independent practice within a larger institution. When Nicholas learned that Caroline was looking for the right opportunity, he told her about the energy-recovery idea he had carried with him since college. He showed her the prototype, which he still had in the back of his car, and an initial deck that set out the vision behind the technology. Caroline immediately saw what it could become, and the conversation quickly turned from the idea itself to how they could make it real. She joined Nicholas as co-founder, shaping NEUUF’s identity and voice from the beginning.

Just three weeks later, Aaron, whom Nicholas had met through Lunchclub, joined the company. Aaron had built his career at the early, uncertain stage of businesses, launching new products, growing audiences and revenue, and turning unfinished ideas into operating businesses. Across leadership roles at AOL, NBCUniversal, Mattel, National Geographic and a number of startups, he had led initiatives with more than $100 million in commercial impact.

NEUUF offered Aaron the kind of challenge he knew well: the chance to build from the ground up. But it also offered something larger. As a father, and through work that had deepened his sense of environmental stewardship, he saw the future of mobility as part of a broader responsibility to care for the planet and respect the environment people live in. He was drawn to the chance to help build something that could contribute to a more sustainable future, creating less harm and greater possibility for the generations that follow. He joined as Chief Business Officer to build NEUUF’s commercial path and partnerships from the beginning.

With the Dunamis core in pre-commercial production, the team is currently focused on raising a $2M seed round.

Advice for Fellow Founders

Since launching NEUUF, Nicholas, Caroline, and Aaron have learned that fostering a strong team relationship is just as important as building an innovative product. “Don’t build something with people you can’t break bread with,” Nicholas believes, and the team has designed the company’s operating system to support it. Monday meetings are called Base Camp, as every week the team knows it's about to climb a mountain and has to look out for each other. The end-of-week call is Kitchen Table, held at lunch on Friday so everyone can eat while counting the week's wins and losses. 

Caroline emphasizes that everyone has to bring something to the table. On a small team with no surplus, all need to contribute. When everyone is involved, the wins are more enjoyable and the losses more bearable. 

To learn more about NEUUF’s journey, you can follow Nicholas on LinkedIn, follow Caroline on LinkedIn, follow Aaron on LinkedIn, or visit www.neuuf.com.