Electroflight appoints Stephen Large as Manufacturing Director
Aviation energy storage specialist Electroflight is gearing up for industrialised aerospace battery production with the appointment of Stephen Large as its new Manufacturing Director.
Above:
Electroflight worked in partnership with Rolls-Royce on creating the world’s fastest all-electric aircraft, ‘Spirit of Innovation’, designing the aircraft's
powertrain.
Courtesy Rolls-Royce
Stephen spent nearly 10 years at Jaguar Land Rover in Manufacturing, with the last five years as one of Jaguar Land Rover’s top battery manufacturing experts. From 2016-2020 he led the automotive giant’s 40-strong battery assembly and test team, developing the in-house manufacturing capabilities and process to support the next generation battery packs. He was directly responsible for the specification, purchase and commissioning of a £100m+ state of the art industrial facility and test facility to support volume production in the UK.
Over the same period Stephen also led the electric drive unit manufacturing assembly team, including the introduction of a multi-million pound assembly and test facility for volume production. In addition, he led the manufacturing partnership between JLR and BMW for the development and production of next generation EDUs, working with teams in Munich and Dingolfing in Germany.
Prior to JLR, Stephen worked for Mahle Powertrain for 17 years – starting as a production / quality engineer after leaving university and working his way up to manufacturing director in 2010.
Stephen’s appointment comes after Gloucestershire-based Electroflight’s groundbreaking success with Rolls Royce in the ACCEL project. The Spirit of Innovation
electric plane – the powertrain for which was designed by Electroflight – broke three electric vehicle world speed records earlier this year.
According to Stjohn Youngman, Electroflight’s UK Managing Director, Stephen’s appointment is about building on the success of the ACCEL project and industrialising the production of similar battery systems for other aerospace customers.
Youngman said: “We have some major contracts and collaboration agreements in the works that will drive a significant increase in our production capacity over the coming months and years. Stephen’s proven track record building and scaling manufacturing capability will be invaluable to Electroflight as we enter this exciting new phase of our growth and development.”
Stephen Large added: “Having spent the last five years of my career at the forefront of automotive battery production, this was an unmissable opportunity to bring that experience to bear in another industry. Electroflight has been built by experts from the world of automotive, so I am in good company. I look forward to working with my new colleagues to help transition Electroflight to the next level.”
Alongside Stephen’s appointment, Electroflight has also announced that it has secured a vital accreditation for the long-term success of its production capabilities. Electroflight’s quality management system has now been assessed for the design, production and testing of high integrity batteries and associated systems and awarded AS9100D and BS EN ISO 9001:2015 certification, for use in the aerospace industry.
Douglas Campbell, Technical Director for Electroflight, said: “This certification is crucial for any company operating in the aerospace industry. For Electroflight to secure this key accreditation while also bringing in an experienced manufacturing veteran underlines our ambitions in this sector and the rapid growth trajectory we see for our business.”