Vehicle electrification specialist Equipmake (EQIP) has been awarded £3.24m by the UK’s Advanced Propulsion Centre as part of an £11m demonstration project for new “off highway” hybrid vehicles.
Equipmake was selected as the e-powertrain supplier for the project by Perkins Engines, a subsidiary of construction and mining equipment colossus Caterpillar, Inc., and is slated to develop a bespoke, heavy-duty hybrid electric system which will include its high torque density electric motor and inverter technologies.
The hybrid unit is expected to take 42 months to develop, with Equipmake also contracted to develop initial production capacity. The “multi fuel drop in” system will be capable of running on much lower carbon intensity fuels including bio-methanol and hydrogen
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This is yet another highly positive development for Equipmake which takes it into another area of the industrial vehicle market – and more importantly still brings it into partnership with Caterpillar, a $60bn a year turnover giant.
The major endorsement of its technological expertise follows the company’s strong maiden full year results which saw sales jump £38% to £5.1m as it delivered against its rapidly expanding order book, now worth over £12m.
That suggests Equipmake has hit a commercial inflection point and is fast becoming the go-to provider of electrification technology to heavy vehicles, including the greening of the UK’s huge bus fleet which consists of around 6,000 non-electric buses in the UK that are between 6 and 10 years old and perfect candidates for retrofitting.
Investment in a 50,000 square feet production facility should allow it to capitalise on the fast-growing commercial demand this is likely to create, while development projects such as this offer the potential for longer-term growth in new markets.