Clean, Efficient, Cost-Effective

Dr. James Lemke, a serial entrepreneur with a history of founding and leading companies, and a personal passion for science, engineering, and education, conceived of Achates Power with an idea that would transform the transportation industry by revitalizing the opposed-piston, two-stroke engine. As an influential physicist and entrepreneur holding more than 100 patents, Lemke understood that access to affordable and reliable transportation improves lives, but that transportation needed to be markedly more sustainable if we are to meet our energy and environmental goals. That solution came in a 1930s-era engine architecture that demonstrated great potential, but momentum had dissipated when the tools of the time could not produce a clean and reliable version.

Lemke’s idea was that modern tools and components could be used to create clean and reliable designs while optimizing the inherent efficiency advantage of OP engines.  In 2004, he partnered with his long-time friend, John Walton, to form Achates Power. They were joined by a collection of bright engineers and scientists and established a culture where ideas and discourse flow unabated and the expectation that each fulfills their utmost potential. While amassing top talent in the industry, Lemke’s vision began to manifest results. The Achates Power engine demonstrates as much as a 30-percent fuel efficiency improvement compared to the industry’s engines with comparable or better emissions and cost.