£250,000 grant will fuel Sevcon's growth plan

Jun 9 2010 by Peter McCusker, The Journal

LOW carbon vehicle company Sevcon has received a £250,000 grant to support the development of a groundbreaking technology for use in a wide range of electric and hybrid vehicles.

The company which is based in Gateshead – and listed on the US Stock Exchange – says the new product will fuel the company’s growth in the coming years.

With the North East emerging as a low carbon vehicle hub Sevcon, whose products help improve the drive efficiency and range of electric vehicles, believes it can capture a growing share of this emerging market.

It has received £250,000 research and development grant from One North East which will be used to support its new Integra project.

Matt Boyle, chief executive of Sevcon, said: “The combination of motor and controller is not new but Integra offers huge performance advantages over existing technology.”

The Integra prototype has been attracting the interest of a number of national and international car manufacturers.

“There’s a real market need for this. Over the last 12 months we have had enquiries from several large OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) interested in the Integra concept,” said Mr Boyle.

“They want a small motor and controller to take the load off internal combustion engines and act as a generator during operation.”

One North East Business finance specialist, Eleanor Anderson, said: “Sevcon’s Integra project is an excellent example of the innovation that is taking place in the low carbon vehicles sector.”

“It will offer the global automotive industry increased efficiency, battery life and vehicle range, using groundbreaking technology designed and manufactured here in North East England.”

Integra, which is essentially a replacement for an alternator with additional control and monitoring functions was developed in the region and is the only product of its type on the market.

The cash will be used to further develop and market the prototype which is expected to be ready for commercial roll-out early next year.

As such it has multiple applications from on-road and off-road electric vehicles and bikes to industrial vehicles such as fork-lifts, utility and mining vehicles.

Sevcon employs 100 people at its facilities in Gateshead, Wrexham, Paris, Tokyo and Seoul.

Mr Boyle added: “The more mechanical work an engine does, the bigger it needs to be and the more emissions it produces if it’s an internal combustion engine. No other system is capable of acting as a generator like this.

“We have the skills and expertise to make this happen. We’re already using our expertise to work with OEMs to integrate separate systems but this project will combine both for the first time.”