As electrified on-road vehicles become more commonplace on America’s highways, other applications are starting to join the world’s transition from ICEs to electrification.

For example, Swedish-based Jetson recently unveiled a personal electric aerial vehicle, Polaris introduced its new Ranger XP Kinetic UTV, and Silicon Valley startup Navier announced plans for an all-electric, hydrofoil, performance boat. Clearly, the EV revolution isn’t limited to our streets and highways. In fact, it’s expanding to our snow-covered mountains, as well. In late December, Montreal-based Taiga Motors Corp. announced that it had produced its first customer-ready electric snowmobiles.

With a goal of “democratizing snow mobility” and developing sustainable mountain tourism, French startup MoonBikes recently announced it will bring its electric snowbike–the world’s first, according to the company–to the U.S. market. In 2021, MoonBikes says their snow e-bike was adopted by 12 ski resorts in Europe. Current yearly production is 400 units, but the company plans to produce 1,500 snowbikes in 2022, thanks to an assembly partnership with Bosch.

The MoonBikes e-bike vehicle, which resembles a motorcycle but has a wide ski in front and a snowmobile-like track in the rear, is powered by a 2.5 kWh battery (an optional dual battery setup provides 5 kWh of power). The 3 kW-rated electric propulsion system produces 17 Nm of torque and a top speed of 42 km/h (26 mph). The e-bike and one battery together weigh about 87 kg (191 lb), and it can carry a payload of 120 kg (264 lb). It measures about 225 cm (88.5 inches) in length and 70.5 cm (27.75 inches) in width, roughly two-thirds the size of an average snowmobile. MoonBikes claims the vehicle is virtually silent, while also being emissions-free and fun to ride.

The new company is the brainchild of Nicolas Muron, a former aeronautical engineer at Dassault Aviation and a graduate of Georgia Tech. In the winter of 2015, while visiting his family home in the French Alps, Muron determined that snow mobility solutions were extremely limited. Seeking to build an environmentally friendly alternative to snowmobiles, he created MoonBikes startup in 2018 in France and recently opened its U.S. subsidiary in Boulder, CO.

In October, the company announced it had closed a $5.2 million seed funding round. This means that MoonBikes can expand its team, invest into R&D, and continue producing its MoonBikes at the highest quality standard.

“After three years of research and development, and rigorous testing across the French Alps, we are proud to launch a brand-new category of vehicles, led by an innovative patented propulsion system,” said Muron. “Snow lovers now have a sustainable and silent alternative without compromising speed, price, or autonomy as MoonBikes can run up to three hours with a second battery or up to 1.5 hours with one.”

MoonBikes plans to introduce its electric snowbike to the U.S. at CES 2022 this week in Las Vegas.