PRODRIVE CELEBRATES THE INNOVATION OF OTHERS

Innovation in engineering and manufacturing was celebrated at the Banbury headquarters of world-leading motorsport and advanced technology company Prodrive as the winners of The Rapid Challenge were revealed.

Launched last Spring by Prodrive Ventures – a division established to use Prodrive expertise in support for engineering ideas from an array of sectors – the challenge was aimed at early-stage businesses and entrepreneurs who are developing and commercialising physical hardware products.

The Challenge attracted 25 submissions from across the UK, with five companies invited to pitch to judges.

Three winners were announced on the night. Each received a share of a £50,000 prize package which included support from Prodrive and legal and financial advice from Challenge partners including Natwest, KPMG, IP Asset and Clayden Law.

E-cargo van manufacturer EAV was named overall winner of the challenge.

The Bicester-based start-up has set off at a blinding pace, teaming up with the UK’s top domestic parcels carrier, DPD, to create an urban delivery vehicle, the P1 e-cargo bike.

The runners up were Bristol-based Actuation Lab which wants to replace the piston – a mainstay of the manufacturing industry for hundreds of years, and London-based Njori which is developing a piece of smart kitchen tech due to be launched with a crowdsourcing campaign in May.

Record sales for the London EV Company

The Warwickshire-based producer of London taxi cabs has recorded two months of record sales of its fully electric TX.

The London EV Company sold 333 electric TX taxis in October, bringing its tally to more than 3,000 since the launch in early 2018. It followed record sales of 352 units in September.

An estimated 18 million passengers have now enjoyed a ride in an electric TX. While London remains the biggest market, the world’s most advanced cab is on the streets in more than 20 cities across the UK, including Birmingham, Coventry, Manchester, Glasgow and Edinburgh.

It is also proving extremely successful overseas, with sales in Germany, Norway, the Netherlands, France, Sweden, Hong Kong and Malaysia.

By 2022, LEVC expects that 70 per cent of the vehicles built at its Coventry factory will be for export.

It is reckoned the introduction of the new electric TX has prevented 9,700 tonnes of CO2 from entering the atmosphere, saved 5.5 million litres of fuel from being used and has reduced drivers’ running costs by £5.4 million.

Canadian oil rig workers safer thanks to Gloucester innovation

Fireproof materials toprotect workers from explosions are being used on oil rigs in Canada.

The fireproof construction is put together on land, with integrated thermal insulation and passive fire protection panels designed and manufactured by Gloucester-based

Advanced Insulation. The rig is scheduled to be floated offshore and mated with the concrete gravity structure in time for the first oil in 2022.

Advanced Insulation’s systems protect offshore equipment and personnel from jet fire and hydrocarbon pool fire. They also provide protection against freezing temperatures and saltwater corrosion.

In 2018 the company won a Queen’s Award for Innovation for its ContraFlame MS400 system, which now represents 27 per cent of the company’s turnover.