Battery electric 4wd conversion wins Nick Carpenter Award for Innovation at Cenex Expo
03 September 2025
The Niche Vehicle Network (NVN) has announced the Quattro Plant led consortium as this year’s winner of the Nick Carpenter Innovation Award as part of a special presentation at the UK Government Pavilion stand at Cenex Expo.
The annual award recognises outstanding niche vehicle R&D projects, which accelerate the transition to zero emission forms of transportation.
Quattro Plant, along with partners iNetic and EV Parts, was awarded the trophy for the outstanding QPLEV_DEM1 project – a battery electric conversion (from a diesel internal combustion engine) of a 4wd off-highway construction vehicle. In a difficult to decarbonise sector, where existing vehicle assets may still have many useful years of life left in them, the project showcases the potential to upgrade the powertrain in those vehicles to a zero tailpipe emissions solution which also delivers a number of other operational benefits – including reduced noise pollution and minimal vibration, making the vehicle ideally suited for extended hours operation in urban environments.
With a goal to minimise the number of changes to the base vehicle, extensive work was needed to integrate the electric drivetrain, with the cooling, transmission, hydraulics and control systems of the existing vehicle.
iNetic developed a new derivative of the motor, tailored to deliver the required performance characteristics for the application, along with a matched inverter. EV Parts developed a new high voltage NMC battery pack to suit the vehicle installation and supported integration of fast charging system. The project also created a novel PCB interface to emulate traditional engine functions and support the systems integration of the new systems into the carry over systems on the vehicle.
The CO2 savings – compared to the base diesel vehicle – are estimated to be in the region of 1 tonne per vehicle, per annum.
Scott Thompson, Programme Director for the Niche Vehicle Network, said:
“We’re delighted that the QPLEV_DEM1 project has been awarded the Nick Carpenter Innovation Trophy this year. It’s great to see Quattro Plant and their partners tackling the challenges of decarbonising construction vehicles by developing an exciting zero tailpipe emission repowering solution.
In many cases it’s not economically viable for companies to replace their existing fleets of vehicles, and there are significant challenges to design and integrate high voltage hardware and the associated control systems into existing vehicles and all the ancillary systems. So the fact that the consortium has been able to create a suitable EV repowering solution is a really exciting and pragmatic development. We’re excited to see how it will be deployed across their own fleet of vehicles, as well as there being great potential to provide similar solutions to a wide range of construction and other off highway vehicles that are currently powered by diesel engines.
It’s the first project we’ve worked on with the Quattro Plant, and we’ve been really impressed with their professional approach and the results they have achieved. While we’ve worked with the teams at EV Parts and iNetic on previous NVN projects, it’s also been great to see the progress they’re continuing to make as important UK supply chain partners.”
John Murphy, Managing Director of Quattro Plant Said:
“I’m delighted to receive the Nick Carpenter award for innovation on behalf of our team at Quattro Plant and our consortium partners, iNetic and EV Parts.
“The funding offered by the NVN has been invaluable our project; The collaboration will go beyond the scope of the project, we are looking to implement the system produced into future vehicles further supporting the UK supply chain on the Quattro Plant Road to Zero transition.”
The NVN Nick Carpenter Innovation Award was created in memory of pioneering Technical Director and co-founder of Delta Motorsport, Nick Carpenter, a key figure within the EV industry and NVN advocate. It celebrates the visionaries behind the latest cutting-edge niche vehicle design and sustainable technology.
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For more information contact Charlotte Thiery Weetman on [email protected]
About the Niche Vehicle Network
The Niche Vehicle Network (NVN) is a free to join, independent network of UK niche vehicle manufacturers and specialist technology organisations active in the niche vehicle sector.
The Network plays a significant role in bringing together companies, helping small but innovative businesses to navigate a complex landscape.
Supported by the Department for Business, Innovate UK, and Trade and the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK (APC), NVN provides a collaborative R&D Programme supporting innovative, SME-led projects focusing on developing and demonstrating zero emission and low carbon vehicle technologies in niche vehicle applications, supporting the transition to net zero.
Niche Vehicle Network:
Scott Thompson, Programme Director: +44 (0) 7801 799605, [email protected]
Charlotte Thiery-Weetman, Programme & Operations Manager: +44 (0) 7930 313121, [email protected]