52 May/June 2024 | E-Mobility Engineering Peter Donaldson reports on an electric powertrain developer that undertakes bespoke conversions for classic cars New kits on the block Electrogenic is a leading developer of electric powertrains for niche vehicle manufacturers. It also carries out bespoke conversions of classics, such as the E-type Jaguar, to electric power and produces conversion kits. With a background in clean energy and electrical engineering, founder and CEO Steve Drummond started the firm with a small team in 2018, moving into premises in Kidlington near Oxford in 2019. Then the pandemic stymied the original plan to focus on the businessto-business (B2B) approach, supplying powertrains to the EV industry. “The business customers went away, so we pivoted the company at that time to business-to-customer (B2C) to see if anybody wanted their cars converted and, happily, it turned out that quite a few people did,” Drummond says. Bespoke conversions undertaken by Electrogenic form an eclectic set of iconic machinery, including: the 1929 Rolls-Royce Phantom II; the Porsche 356C; the Citroen DS; the Volkswagen Karmann Ghia, Beetle and Camper models; and Morgan’s 4/4. Electrogenic now offers conversion kits for classic Land Rovers such as the Series I, II and III, and Defender models, the original Mini, G-body and 964 variants of the Porsche 911, and the focus of this article, the E-type Jag. Drivetrain development Electrogenic continues to expand, particularly in the B2B area, as demand for EV drivetrains from small manufacturers and the defence industry grows. In addition to Drummond, the executive team includes chief engineer Francis Prime, chief financial officer Andy Camoenié and head of brand Vic Crofts. There are 17 employees and the company is recruiting more. Drummond regards drivetrain development as the core activity, centred on the creation of vehiclespecific battery packs, built up from commercially available standard modules and run by bought-in battery management systems (BMS). However, Electrogenic develops its own Vehicle Control Unit (VCU) technology for highlevel control of the entire powertrain, as well as designing printed circuit boards and software for dashboards, body control modules and other electronic components for modern EVs. In addition, the company designs and builds mechanical transmissions that help adapt electric motors to classic vehicles’ existing driveline components. The Kidderminster facility covers about 20,000 ft2 across two buildings: one dedicated to mechanical work, and the other for electrical/electronic r&d and manufacturing plus a showroom, offices and vehicle storage. The firm also has a small unit at the nearby Bicester Heritage historic vehicle centre on a former RAF airfield, which is also used for track testing and marketing. Installation of Electrogenic’s kits in customers’ vehicles is carried out by independent specialists with deep Electrogenic’s conversion of the E-type Jag is billed as a modernised classic that can be driven every day (Images courtesy of Electrogenic)
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