An engineering partnership led by Lotus has won UK Government
support and funding to develop an all-new next-generation Battery
Electric Vehicle (BEV) architecture.
The news was
confirmed today by the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC). The
funding is awarded as part of the APC’s Advanced Route to Market
Demonstrator (ARMD) competition. Funded by the UK Government’s
Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS),
the competition is delivered on behalf of the APC by Cenex, the
UK’s Low Carbon and Fuel Cells Centre of
Excellence.
The successful application is called LEVA, which
stands for Lightweight Electric Vehicle Architecture. Led by
Lotus, it is targeting the acceleration of and innovation behind
new lightweight structures for next-generation BEVs.
Incorporating cutting-edge UK-based engineering and digital
manufacturing expertise, LEVA will be a showcase for pioneering
new BEV chassis and powertrain concepts.
Lotus will collaborate with supply chain partner
Sarginsons Industries and leading academics from Brunel
University London to harness the full ‘light-weighting’ potential
of the vehicle architecture.
Matt Windle, Executive Director of Engineering,
Lotus, commented: “This is great news for our industry and its
transition to electrification. As a collaboration between Lotus,
Sarginsons Industries and Brunel University London there is a
wealth of talent involved, and we are excited to have already
begun the project work. Following the launch of the Lotus Evija,
our all-electric 2,000 PS hypercar, this project is a key
building block in our vision to deliver a full range of
electrified Lotus performance cars ‘For The Drivers’. Funding of
this nature is critical to stimulate the automotive industry and
supply chain as both continue to adjust to a rapidly changing
landscape.”
More details on Project LEVA will be released by
Lotus and its partners in due course.
