EMPEL Systems

What EMPEL Systems does

EMPEL Systems Limited is a UK-based designer and manufacturer of integrated electric motor and power electronics modules, founded in 2019 by Jason King and John Martin. The company operates from Milton Keynes (headquarters and primary manufacturing) and Leicester (engineering/R&D), serving automotive, aerospace, commercial vehicle, off-highway, industrial, robotics, and green-tech markets as a Tier 2 supplier to OEMs and Tier 1 integrators via direct enterprise sales. Technical credibility is anchored by its design and manufacture of the 48V electric motor (MGU) and power electronics for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES hybrid power unit powering the 28-car grid, which won the 2025 Louis Schwitzer Award.

The company's core product portfolio is a modular eModule family spanning five power ranges — EM75 (up to 175,000 rpm), EM100 (30-100kW, up to 50,000 rpm), EM150 (50-350kW, up to 40,000 rpm), EM200 (150-600kW, up to 20,000+ rpm), and EM250 (250-1000kW, up to 18,000 rpm) — each offered with optional integrated 800V silicon carbide (SiC) inverters built on the LIGHTNING multi-phase platform with ASIL-compatible safety functionality. The architecture supports 48V, 450V, and 800V configurations using shared core systems, parts, tooling, and manufacturing methods. Quantified performance metrics include >15kW/kg power density (double the 2035 Automotive Council targets), peak efficiency around 97% on the EM250, and demonstrated CO2 emissions improvements of up to 25% for hybrid applications. Design and validation are supported by an Ansys CAE stack with over 5,000 hours invested in cooling system design.

EMPEL monetises through direct B2B sales of hardware modules (integrated eModules, standalone motors, and SiC inverters) and custom engineering services, with quote-based pricing on project-specific contracts. The company has secured two non-dilutive APC grants (October 2020 ARMD; £5.63M in June 2022 for the e-MOTIF project) plus Innovate UK funding via the RUBICON consortium, with no disclosed equity investment to date. Manufacturing capacity stands at 40,000 units per year at Milton Keynes, with a planned 25,000-unit-per-year Warwickshire facility under the e-MOTIF consortium with Shield Engineering Group, PUNCH Flybrid, and PFS Manufacturing; EMx motors and LIGHTNING inverters are entering series production for 2026-27 model years. Visible strategic anchors include the INDYCAR programme, the Shell Triple 10 Challenge (May 2026), and consortium work with Cenex and Romax Technology.

Name

EMPEL Systems

Legal name

EMPEL Systems Limited

Website

https://empelsystems.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

EMPEL Systems Limited is a UK-based designer and manufacturer of integrated electric motor and power electronics modules, serving automotive, aerospace, commercial vehicle, industrial, robotics, and green-tech OEMs with a modular multi-voltage eModule portfolio.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Electric Propulsion Systems

NAICS

Motor Vehicle Electrical and Electronic Equipment Manufacturing (336320)

SIC

Electronic & Other Electrical Equipment (No Computer Equip) (3600)

akta.pro primary industry

Electric Drive Unit / E-Axle Manufacturing (Motors/Inverters/Gearboxes) (IMACACAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Power Electronics Manufacturing (Inverters/DC-DC/Onboard Chargers) (IMACACAD), High-Voltage, Power Discretes & Modules (IGBT/MOSFET/SiC/GaN) (HDAHAAAK), Automotive Power Electronics & Inverters/Converters Manufacturing (IMACAJAE)

Keywords

• Electric motor manufacturing
• Power electronics modules
• Automotive electrification
• Integrated eModules
• Silicon carbide inverters

Headquarters

HQ city

Milton Keynes

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Electric Motor Sales: Sale of integrated electric motors including EM75, EM100, EM150, EM200, and EM250 eModule product families. Products range from 25kW to 1000kW power ratings serving various market segments from automotive to aerospace.
2. Power Electronics Sales: Sale of integrated silicon carbide inverters and motor control systems (MCU/inverter) as standalone products or bundled with motor modules.
3. Custom Motor Development: Custom-designed electric motors and power electronics solutions developed in collaboration with customers for specific applications.
4. Engineering Services: Collaborative design, development, and integration services for electric propulsion systems including software control and diagnostics.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

EMPEL Systems designs and manufactures integrated electric motor and power electronics modules (eModules) combining its EMx high-speed motor technology with LIGHTNING multi-phase silicon carbide (SiC) inverters. Its modular and scalable product family spans 25kW to 1000kW across 48V, 450V and 800V variants and is sold to automotive OEMs, aerospace, commercial vehicle, off-highway, robotics and green-tech manufacturers, supplemented by custom motor development and engineering services.

Product overview

EMPEL Systems offers a modular and scalable family of integrated electric motor and power electronics modules (eModules) across five product series (EM75, EM100, EM150, EM200, EM250) covering power ranges from 25kW to 1000kW. All variants feature optional integrated state-of-the-art 800V silicon carbide inverters with ASIL-compatible safety functionality. The product family shares common core systems, parts, tooling, and manufacturing methods to deliver high performance, efficiency and power density across automotive, aerospace, industrial, robotics, marine and greentech markets. The company also offers Custom Motors for bespoke solutions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• EMx: EMPEL's motor technology platform used in INDYCAR Hybrid MGU applications, expected to enter series production in 2026-27 model years.
• LIGHTNING
• EM75 Turbo eModules
• EM100 Series eModules
• EM150 Series eModules
• EM200 Series eModules
• EM250 Series eModules

Products and services

• EM75 Turbo eModules

Quantifiable outcome

• ~97% peak motor efficiency (EM250)
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• ShellcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 May 2026EMPEL Systems participated in Shell's Triple 10 Challenge - a strategic co-engineering initiative to demonstrate next-generation BEV performance with sub-10-minute charging, 10 km/kWh efficiency, and 10-tonne lifecycle CO2 footprint. EMPEL contributed to a fireside panel discussion highlighting cross-industry collaboration importance.
• ChevroletcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 May 2025Collaborative development of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES hybrid power unit. Chevrolet worked with EMPEL, Honda, HRC, and Ilmor Engineering to integrate EMPEL's 48V electric motor and power electronics into the hybrid system that powers all 28 Indycar grid cars.
• Honda (HRC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 May 2025Collaborative development of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES hybrid power unit alongside Chevrolet, EMPEL, and Ilmor Engineering.
• Ilmor EngineeringcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 May 2025Partner in Indycar hybrid power unit development, working with Chevrolet, Honda, and EMPEL Systems.
• Shield Engineering GroupmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 June 2022Lead partner in the e-MOTIF project (electric Motor, Inverter, Flywheel). Shield provides manufacturing capability for EMPEL's e-Motor and flywheel energy storage systems. £20M facility under construction in Warwickshire.
• PUNCH FlybridmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 June 2022Partner in the e-MOTIF consortium providing F-Boost Flywheel Energy Storage System alongside EMPEL's e-Motor and Shield's manufacturing capability.
• PFS ManufacturingminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 June 2022Consortium partner in the e-MOTIF project alongside Shield Engineering Group, EMPEL Systems, and PUNCH Flybrid.
• AnsyscoreTechnology or Integration · 14 April 2022EMPEL has invested heavily in Ansys computer-aided engineering software including Ansys Workbench, MotorCAD, Maxwell, Fluent, and optiSLang for multi-physics simulation of electromagnetics, thermal-transfer, mechanical interactions, and rotor-dynamics.
• CenexmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 January 2021Consortium partner in the RUBICON project (ultRa-dUraBle electrIC pOwertraiNs) funded by Innovate UK. Cenex provides driver data sets and explores differences between CAVs and existing passenger vehicles.
• Romax TechnologymajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 January 2021Consortium partner in the RUBICON project bringing 30 years of experience in performance simulation, testing and design. Combined with EMPEL's electric motor and power electronics expertise for ultra-durable powertrain development for autonomous vehicles.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Nidec Corporation: World's largest manufacturer of small motors and an aggressive entrant into automotive EV traction motors via Nidec Automotive Motor. Sets the cost-down, high-volume benchmark that smaller specialists such as EMPEL must beat on total cost of ownership.
• ZF Friedrichshafen: Major German Tier 1 with high-volume EV powertrain systems, including 800V e-drives and SiC inverters. Represents the scaled incumbent EMPEL must displace to win volume OEM programs.
• BorgWarner: Global Tier 1 automotive supplier with a broad portfolio of EV motors, inverters and integrated drive modules across passenger and commercial vehicles. Not niche-specialist but a key incumbent competitor at OEM platforms.
• MAHLE Powertrain: Large automotive supplier with integrated e-axle and power electronics products for passenger and commercial vehicles. Overlaps with EMPEL on high-performance motors and Jason King's prior employer.

Direct peers

• Saietta Group: UK-headquartered maker of integrated electric drivetrains (motors + inverters) for light EVs, commercial vehicles and marine. Closely mirrors EMPEL's eModule strategy of bundling motor and inverter into one packaged product.
• YASA (a Mercedes-Benz AG company): UK-origin axial-flux EV motor specialist, now part of Mercedes-Benz. YASA is the closest direct peer to EMPEL - both sell high-performance, high-power-density e-motors to premium automotive OEMs using proprietary electromagnetic topologies.
• Equipmake: UK-based electric motors and inverters supplier targeting automotive, aerospace and industrial customers. Comparable product scope (motors + power electronics), similar customer base and overlapping UK manufacturing footprint make it a direct competitor.
• Integral Powertrain (Integral e-Drive): UK high-performance motors and inverters business and former employer of EMPEL's co-founders. Competes head-to-head in motorsport-grade and aerospace electric propulsion, with comparable high-speed motor technology.
• Evolito: UK-based electric motors and power electronics business spun out from YASA targeting the eVTOL and aerospace market. Competes directly with EMPEL on the aerospace electrification segment.

Emerging players

• Turntide Technologies: US/UK company offering integrated motor + inverter + controls for commercial vehicles, industrial and HVAC applications. Comparable horizontal platform play across multiple end markets, including EV traction-adjacent segments.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/EmpelSystems
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/empel-systems-limited

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about EMPEL Systems