“Ours and previous generations built billions of vehicles. Now is the time to realise the potential of remanufacturing to break the replace-with-new cycle by electrifying them for future generations. Lunaz’ commitment to establishing the UK’s largest remanufacturing and electrification facility is just the start. We look forward to many more globally as we plot a more sustainable course to vehicle decarbonisation.”
David Lorenz, Founder and CEO, Lunaz
BACKGROUND:
Luanz Applied Technologies is delighted to announce a 400% increase in its re-manufacturing and electrification footprint in Silverstone, Buckinghamshire. This will be the largest facility of its kind in the UK.
The new facility, located on the Silverstone Technology Park, part of the wider Silverstone Technology Cluster will be home to 300 highly skilled technicians and engineers in 2022. It will be the global Headquarters and R&D Hub for Lunaz Applied Technologies which upcycles and re-engineers specialist industrial fleet vehicles to factory new standard and converts them to the Lunaz proprietary electric powertrain.
The new facility has capacity for 1,110 remanufactured and electrified vehicles per year. This will save 44,000 tonnes of Co2 per year.
This significant investment follows the signing of an agreement to explore the remanufacturing and electrification of Buckinghamshire Council’s fleet of diesel refuse trucks. This agreement was signed by Council Leader, Martin Tett and Lunaz Founder, David Lorenz at the Green Wheels in Motion Event. Part of a series of regional activations surrounding the COP26 UN Climate Conference in Glasgow.
“As a council we are fully committed to doing all we can do to cut our carbon emissions and we know that converting our diesel and petrol vehicles to electric power as soon as we can, would be a giant step towards doing that.
“We are delighted to be working with Lunaz, industry leaders in this field. Together we hope to explore the best ways for converting our existing fleet of vehicles to electric. Rather than scrapping them and buying new, the innovative technologies being developed and employed by Lunaz will help us to use a much greener option, to effectively upcycle and rejuvenate our current fleet to fully electric vehicles.”
Cllr. Martin Tett, Leader of Buckinghamshire Council
REMANUFACTURING LESS COST. LESS CARBON.
Remanufacturing and electrification plots a dramatically more sustainable course to the decarbonisation of industrial and passenger vehicle fleets. It also saves significant capital over buying new electric vehicles with remanufactured electric refuse trucks costing councils broadly the same as their diesel equivalents.
Every vehicle that undergoes this process is overhauled to a standard which means that it can be warrantied ‘as new’. This mirrors an approach successfully employed by the global passenger jet industry. For example, the average age of a British Airways Boeing 777 is 17 years. Remanufacturing of key systems and components is used throughout the industry to increase usable life and deliver a cost effective route to ensuring the highest standards of safety and functionality over extended life-cycles.
This provides Fleet Owners with all of the cost and ecological benefits of an upcycled vehicle with the same functional performance and reliability as a brand-new equivalent. The approach represents a comprehensive process of remanufacturing. Every component is upcycled to a factory standard with a clear focus on reducing waste.
This is a clear answer to the pressing global requirement to reduce carbon emissions. Lunaz employs a remanufacturing approach because it preserves nearly 80% of the embedded carbon within a vehicle, therefore breaking a replace-with-new cycle which sees millions of tonnes worth of functioning vehicles end up in landfill every year.
This approach, in line with the principle of the circular economy, has been proven by the Lunaz Group’s ‘Lunaz Design’ division through its leadership of the rapidly growing passenger car electrification sector. Indeed, Lunaz is the first to market with production electric Aston Martin, Bentley, Jaguar, Range Rover and Rolls-Royce cars. In doing so, validating the viability of its modular proprietary electric powertrain in the most quality-sensitive market in the world.
SUSTAINABILITY WITHOUT FUNCTIONAL PENALTY
Every industrial vehicle that undergoes Luanz’ remanufacturing and electrification approach is fully upcycled. This means fleet operators are presented with a vehicle in factory new condition. Lunaz develops all software in-house. This ensures end-users are presented with a vehicle equipped with the latest safety and control equipment. This includes the replacement of wing-mirrors with camera equipment and latest blindspot protection through side-facing RADAR and 360 birds-eye view cameras to increase awareness of surroundings and safety of workers when manoeuvring.
Lunaz’ senior engineering team have personally participated in refuse collection rounds to understand the requirements of Waste Collection operators. This has built a fundamental understanding of the very specific features and design elements they require. For example, they received almost universal feedback that passenger seats within existing OEM refuse trucks were very uncomfortable. Luanz’ in-house design team will respond with a new seat design to address this issue.
This approach extends to the technology and even to the lay-out of switch-gear within the cabin. This follows detailed consultation with Waste Collectors and the Workshop Managers that work with refuse trucks on a daily basis. This feedback is shaping every design and functional decision meaning Councils will be provided with vehicles entirely tailored to their requirements, rather than the one-size-fits-all approach new product development dictates.
Luanz’ technology marries seamlessly to the vehicle’s existing systems and following up-cycling, the useful life of these vehicles is dramatically extended. This saves significant capital expenditure for public and private sector entities, with a savings of over £1million per year in fuel cost alone.
Remanufactured Lunaz refuse trucks will also be specified with the latest telematics technology. This means fleet operators can dynamically track and manage their fleets. This technology also provides significant service and maintenance benefits through an approach pioneered in the airline business. Central operators at Lunaz will be able to diagnose issues and alert council workshops to repair requirements. This will reduce fleet downtime and cost burden in servicing.
GLOBAL MANUFACTURING BASES, ANCHORED IN SILVERSTONE
The new home of Lunaz Applied Technologies in Silverstone will have capacity to deliver 1,100 remanufactured, re-engineered and electrified heavy-industrial vehicles per year. It will also serve as the permanent R&D and engineering hub for a business with global ambitions.
Indeed, Lunaz is already in advanced negotiations in major markets including the United States and Europe to place similar factory spaces in direct proximity to the markets in which it operates. This is in line with a strategic commitment to reducing emissions wherever possible within its logistics operation while retraining value back to its international markets through the creation of clean-technology jobs.
COMMENTS