Zero-emissions vehicle specialist Lunaz aims to double its workforce within the next 18 months as it expands its programme of creating “upcycled” electrified vehicles. 

The Silverstone-based technology firm specialises in converting existing commercial vehicles such as recycling lorries to electric power, as well as adding electric drivetrains to rare classic cars. 

Its founder, David Lorenz, said that as demand for clean transport technology continues to grow, the firm intends to increase its workforce from 175 to 350 by the middle of 2025. The firm was set up in 2018 with just five employees and has already expanded its original 7,000 square foot facility to 250,000 sq ft to meet demand for its products. 

It plans to convert up to 1,100 passenger and commercial vehicles per year at its facility using an in-house powertrain that offers up to 5,162lb ft of torque and battery capacities between 275kWh and 400kWh.

Lunaz says that upcycling and electrifying an existing industrial vehicle saves more than 80% of the embedded carbon compared with building a new one, as well as representing a 25% cost saving over a brand-new vehicle. 

Lorenz said: “We started Lunaz to accelerate the world’s critical drive to net zero by offering a dramatically more sustainable and economically alternative to the current replace-with-new cycle. By unlocking the power of the circular economy, we are transitioning commercial and passenger fleets at pace and scale, in doing so saving millions of tonnes in embedded carbon and billions in pounds.

“Today, we can confirm our robust roadmap to double the number of skilled clean-tech jobs by the middle of 2025, affirming our commitment to the UK and Silverstone as a global centre of excellence in clean-tech industry.”

The staff expansion will cover technicians, engineers, designers and upcycling specialists at the Northamptonshire facility. 

Alongside reengineering commercial vehicles, Lunaz, which counts David Beckham among its big-name backers, has a tidy sideline in electrifying high-end classic cars under the Lunaz Design title. It has already converted an Aston Martin DB6, Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II, Bentley S2 Continental, Jaguar XK120 and Range Rover to electric power, with prices ranging from just under £300,000 to almost £1 million. 

Lunaz uses its in-house technology to bring electric power to everything from bin lorries to classic Rolls-Royces