In a year which saw great proportions of our time being spent staying at home, working from home & still trying to fathom our way through a pandemic; the Dolphin N2 team flourished.
The recuperated split cycle CryoPower engine has been developed & testing has begun in earnest. The Dolphin N2 team has expanded & grown, bringing new expertise to the team & in amongst the challenges faced by the pandemic; the Dolphin N2 team still managed to win an exciting competition, gather together for a team day & be represented at Cenex LCV Online.
October 2020 – Dolphin N2 wins Advanced Route to Market Demonstrator (ARMD) Competition launched by the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC)
Dolphin N2 have won an exciting competition run by the APC aimed at supporting UK industry with R&D & assisting with accelerating the transition to zero emission vehicles. Out of 50 applicants only 12 cutting edge demonstrator projects won funding & their respective outputs will be showcased at the Cenex Low Carbon Vehicle show in September 2021. (Note: Written pre-lockdown 2, 2020)
As part of the criteria for entry, companies had to demonstrate that their projects could be accelerated with the funding & result in a route to market. Furthermore, the projects needed to demonstrate ‘significantly improved and low emission technology in order to support the UK market’s transition to Zero.’ (1)
‘The small-scale collaborative projects are being led by a range of OEMs and SMEs, focusing on products and processes across energy storage & management, power electronics, electric machines, lightweighting and hydrogen. They will demonstrate a range of digitalisation techniques including the creation of “digital twins” to advance the development of each project’s prototypes or processes, covering vehicles ranging from passenger cars and buses to all-terrain vehicles and LCVs.’ (1)
This additional funding for Dolphin N2 comes at a crucial time in the development of their recuperated split cycle engine, enabling investment in efficiency improvements & hydrogen fuel combustion. The Dolphin N2 team has already benefitted this year from the investment from FPT Industrial, a subsidiary of CNH Industrial, which has enabled the project to make considerable advances. It also showcases how investment in a UK post Covid Green Recovery is forging ahead.
Zoe Hall, Head of Competitions and Projects, from the APC said: “The competition has been a great success and we’re delighted to support these aspirational projects, which will help contribute to a thriving future in UK Industry. The whole process, along with the review of so many applications, has proved extremely beneficial in showcasing the continued demand for R&D support in this space.” (1)
29th October 2020 – Dolphin N2 team gather for a rare team exercise pre lockdown 2
With all of the Dolphin N2 team having spent the better part of six months working remotely for the best part of lockdown 1, continuing to work in rotation from their offices based in Shoreham & working closely with Professor Morgan from the University of Brighton; it was a rare moment on Thursday 29 October when the majority of the team gathered for their first collective photo shoot.
Trying to gather as many of the Dolphin N2 team together at any given time is a logistical feat in itself & having had to contend with the initial restrictions of the first lockdown; it has been a rarity for the majority of the team to be in the same place at the same time in the past year.
Therefore, with many new faces supporting the Dolphin N2 project, it was decided to take a moment & spend a day collating a decent library of team images for future media representation. Of course, none of the team could have foreseen the announcement made on Saturday 31 October regarding the second lockdown & therefore it was a well chosen pre-emptive gathering.
Virtually Smart Ltd who provide Business Management Support for the Dolphin N2 team, Project Managed the photo shoot, collaborated with a local photographer & coordinated the day to run smoothly. It was also a great opportunity for Dolphin N2 team members to hold valuable conversations & mini meetings throughout the day, face to face (social distancing protocols allowing) to discuss the progress of the project.
Advances in technology have meant that the Dolphin N2 team have been operating in a virtual environment for most of the year have managed to hold meetings online & continued to design & develop the CryoPower split-cycle engine. However, there is something to be said for a person to person conversation. Amongst the photography, the Dolphin N2 team members continued to work, analyse & hold conversations regarding the engine development, which created a fluid & energetic flow to the day.
With such a seemingly ordinary event having taken place in such an extraordinary year & with this one day having brought the entire team safely together; the Dolphin N2 team were not only able to allow their media & website presence to be updated, but it also enabled them to have some much needed team moments together, when all around them the challenges of the pandemic continue.
18th – 19th November 2020 – Cenex LCV Online
As with so many events in 2020 & despite their best efforts to keep it as a physical event; Cenex had to move their Cenex – LCV & Cenex CAM online.
The Dolphin N2 team we re keen to be represented at this important & industry relevant event & would have most likely been seeking physical representation at the event, as they have done in recent years. With this in mind, it was decide that Dolphin N2 team would take advantage of the online Virtual Stand option instead.
With the help of their business support team Virtually Smart, the Dolphin N2 team booked, prepared all relevant content, presented papers & video links for attendees to engage with & at the 11th hour, the virtual LCV stand went live.
Simon Brewster – CEO, Nick Owen – Technical Director & Rhys Pickett – Chief engineer represented the Dolphin N2 team in the ‘Meet the Experts’ facility & the feedback they received was fantastic. Simon reported that throughout the event he had been able to re-connect with other industry connections & held many relevant & productive conversations thanks to their online presence at Cenex LCV Online.
Cenex have already published this years date & Covid permitting we will be live at Cenex LCV 22-23 September 2021
Written by Katy Mason for & on behalf of Dolphin N2
