A former CEO of Aston Martin has saved a British EV firm from administration.
Palmer Energy Technology, a UK clean energy and battery technology group led by Andy Palmer, has acquired the business and assets of Kleandrive as a going concern through administration.
Kleandrive specialises in the conversion of traditional diesel vehicles and replacing them with electric drivetrains. The acquisition preserves a specialist British engineering capability in heavy vehicle decarbonisation.
The Essex-based operation specialises in converting legacy diesel buses to fully electric powertrains, an approach that allows fleet operators to decarbonise existing vehicles without the embedded carbon cost or capital outlay of new EV bus procurement.
The acquisition of the business and assets as a going concern through administration will see Kleandrive’s repowering capability integrated into the PETL group’s wider clean propulsion portfolio.
PETL is one of the UK’s leading developers of battery and battery management system technology, including through its wholly owned subsidiary Brill Power, a University of Oxford spinout it acquired last year.
The combined business has vertical reach from battery cell selection and management through to powertrain integration, fleet deployment and aftermarket support, giving PETL a direct application channel for its proprietary battery technology in one of the highest impact segments of UK transport decarbonisation.
“Britain keeps losing its industrial base one company at a time,” said Palmer. “I have spent years making the public argument that the UK cannot meet its decarbonisation targets or build a credible clean transport sector without homegrown businesses leading the way.
“This acquisition of Kleandrive’s business and assets as a going concern is a small but practical example of acting on that argument. Repowering existing diesel buses is one of the most cost-effective ways for operators to decarbonise their fleets. It deserves to be built here, by British engineers and we intend to make sure it is.”