E-Mobility Engineering 019 | In conversation: Stephen Lambert l WAE EVR l Battery case materials focus l Quality control insight l Clipper Automotive Clipper Cab digest l Optimising battery chemistries insight l Powertrain testing focus

16 May/June 2023 | E-Mobility Engineering McLaren Applied’s head of electrification talks to Rory Jackson about how the company’s race-bred technology will filter through to e-mobility The trickle- down effect D espite coming from a farming community in South Wales, Stephen Lambert had a keen interest in software engineering from an early age, with programming taking up much of his attention during his secondary school education. That however would be replaced by a career move into automotive engineering, which has involved him in motorsport as well as e-mobility projects. In the lead-up to that, he recalls, “By the time I was at university for my software engineering degree, I’d started driving and realised how fun cars were – and by comparison, howmuch less exciting software programming by itself was.” That preference has stayed with Lambert and has inspired him, as head of electrification at McLaren Applied, to produce HV solutions optimised for where he sees the electrified world going. Recalling his university days again, he says, “The supervisor on my fourth-year project wanted to set up a doctorate that was aligned with something called Formula Hybrid, which was a precursor to the electric Formula Student series. I soon found myself working with Potenza Technology, who were working with Westfield Sportscars and wanted us to investigate how we could electrify one of the latter’s cars.” Lambert took up the challenge and soon a Westfield hybrid EV was built, which he was able to show at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in 2010. Soon after, he and his colleagues designed and built a diesel-powered Formula Three car that featured a number of technologies to make it more eco-friendly than the typical machinery in the series, and to prove out what was then being called ‘green automotive’. These experiences have led him through a range of roles dealing with cutting-edge e-mobility technology, including as principal engineer for hybrid and EV integration at Lotus, battery systems engineer at McLaren Racing – specifically for the energy McLaren Applied has long developed electrical and electronic components for motorsport, and since 2016 Stephen Lambert has led its shift towards e-mobility (Images courtesy of McLaren Applied)