batteries, in particular down to an individual cell
level,” Wilson said. “We believe that the ability to
be able to proactively diagnose early issues is
going to be even more critical in the future,
particularly if you talk about batteries that are
going to be powering products that will fly. Or in
certain service applications where you don’t
want a vehicle being stuck halfway up a mine
ramp.”
Wilson added that WAE has gone onto to
participate in ‘dozens and dozens of battery
related projects’. Formula E set WAE in good
stead when tasked with developing the battery
pack for the ETCR (Electric Touring Car Racing)
programme in an seven month window.
The company’s expertise came to the fore also
with Hyperbat Ltd, a joint venture with Unipart
that launched in 2018 with the aim of creating
the UK’s largest independent vehicle battery
manufacturer.
WAE saw Hyperbat as way of protecting one
of it core areas of engagement with industry -
designing and validating battery systems –
whilst Unipart was looking to protect its
manufacturing businesses from a future decline
in internal combustion engine systems.
Hyperbat’s launch project delivered the 800V
battery for the Aston Martin Rapide, which was
the marque’s first electric vehicle and the only
venture Wilson could elaborate on.
“The other four projects that are currently
active are all, unfortunately, under NDA. Two of
them are very, very significant,” he said. “I will
leave it at that.”
WAE’s expertise in fields including
aerodynamics, advanced lightweight structures,
propulsion systems, and simulation have lent
themselves to numerous projects that have
helped customers in industries ranging from
defence to retail.
With EMK at the helm, WAE is in position to
move its own ideas toward commercialisation.
Travelling along the route map of TRL are 223, a
process developed to post-cure carbon fibre
joints, and Racetrack, a process initially
developed to produce suspension wishbones but
with up to 80 per cent recycled carbon fibre and
40 per cent less weight than equivalent metal
parts.
As a ‘sector agnostic’ company WAE is in
position to help identify and nurture those
companies that have received investment from
the Foresight Williams Technology Fund.
“We undertake…quite a lot of the scouting for
those technology investment opportunities, and
we undertake the technical due diligence and in
a number of cases we also provide technical
support services to help those young companies
grow,” Wilson said. “That’s the journey. In some
cases they need just some straight money and in
some cases they need some management
support, in some cases they need maybe some
technical support, as well, or a combination of
all three.
“In the case of AMT, we… were sufficiently
impressed with their…processing and materials
combination to feel that it’s viable…This is one
that we think has got real legs to it, so hence why
we made the investment.”
As a relatively young company itself, Wilson
said that every project undertaken by WAE is a
‘voyage of discovery’ but that it is well positioned
to flourish.
“We’ve got a very stable workforce, we’ve
grown substantially over the last few years, but
we also have a very, very low turnover of staff so
we retain a lot of that knowledge and you
continue to just improve,” he concluded.
23 July 2020 / www.theengineer.co.uk
The Jaguar C-X75 - built with the world’s highest
specific power enginer - went from design concept
to fully working prototype in two years
/www.theengineer.co.uk