Electric vehicles of all shapes and sizes descended on Brighton on Saturday 25 June for the second London to Brighton Electric Vehicle Rally.

The rally is the first of its type in England and a major public showcase for the latest in electric vehicles and clean energy from the automotive, leisure and manufacturing sectors.

Participants in a range of vehicles from buses and vans to motorbikes and e-bikes headed off from central London in the morning, crossing the iconic Westminster Bridge for a lap of Parliament Square before heading south, calling at Crawley for a pit-stop – and the opportunity to recharge vehicles – on the way to the finish line on Madeira Drive.

This year, a team of staff and students from the University took part in the rally thanks to a new partnership between our School of Architecture, Technology and Engineering, our Advanced Engineering Centre, and Sussex-based engineering company JLC Group, focused on developing zero-emissions electric vehicles for people and freight.

As part of the collaboration, JLC Group has donated a brand-new electric city car for students to adapt, upgrade and use to support their learning and research. Entering the vehicles into the London to Brighton Electric Vehicle Rally gave the team a valuable opportunity to get real-world information about the vehicles’ telemetry, aerodynamics, and battery efficiency and performance.

JLC’s electric vehicles taking part in the rally.

Colleagues and students from ATE also hosted a stand at the finish line eVillage on Madeira Drive. It was a great opportunity to talk about the work being done to address global challenges around transport and decarbonisation and to offer up some fun and interactive activities for people, including the university’s high-tech racing car simulator.

Dr Steven Begg, reader in the School of Architecture Technology and Engineering and a researcher at the Advanced Engineering Centre, said: “Our partnership with JLC is a great example of the University working in collaboration with industry to provide practical, scalable solutions to meet the global transport carbon challenge – while also giving our students the opportunity to learn and work in a commercial environment.

Tony Hayes, founder of JLC Group, said: “We have been blown away by the world-class facilities on campus and the phenomenal work being carried out by staff and students at the University of Brighton. We look forward to developing a truly collaborative partnership that will benefit both parties and help put our region on the map as a centre of sustainable engineering expertise.”