McLaren Electronic Systems
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McLaren Applied is a British technology and products company. Capabilities include design, development, manufacture and test of electronic, mechanical, electrical and software products. The company is focused on four industries: motorsport, automotive, transport and mining. McLaren Applied was formerly a part of
McLaren Group McLaren Group Limited ( ) is a British holding company based in Woking, England, which is involved in Formula One and other motorsport and the manufacture of sports cars. The group was founded by Ron Dennis shortly after his acquisition of the ...
and since 2021 a fully independent company, which owned by the private investment firm Greybull Capital.


History

The present company was formed when two
McLaren Technology Group McLaren Group Limited ( ) is a British holding company based in Woking, England, which is involved in Formula One and other motorsport and the manufacture of sports cars. The group was founded by Ron Dennis shortly after his acquisition of the ...
companies merged - 'McLaren Composites and TAG Electronics. The companies merged due to the sale of
Audiolab Audiolab is a British manufacturer of audio equipment. It specializes in affordable systems and has a range of stereo and surround sound systems. During its ownership under McLaren Group it was named TAGMcLaren Audio. History Audiolab was foun ...
to International Audio Group. TAG Electronics Holdings was the parent company of TAGMcLaren Audio (Now Audiolab) and also TAG Electronics Systems. When Audiolab was sold, the holding company TAG Electronics Holdings was scrapped and the remaining technology company merged with McLaren Composites, which both together then formed McLaren Applied Technologies. In September 2014, Ian Rhodes replaced the founder, Ron Dennis, as CEO of the company. McLaren Applied was initially known as "McLaren Composites", its main work being the manufacture of parts for the
McLaren F1 The McLaren F1 is a sports car that was the first Motor vehicle type approval, type approved road-going sportscar manufactured by British Formula One team McLaren. It was the last road-legal, series-produced sportscar to win the 24 Hours of Le ...
and Mercedes SLR. However, it also won contracts to manufacture parts for other companies and moved into the energy industry, mainly
solar panels A solar panel is a device that converts sunlight into electricity by using photovoltaic (PV) cells. PV cells are made of materials that produce excited electrons when exposed to light. These electrons flow through a circuit and produce direct ...
. It was dissolved in 2003 and replaced with "McLaren Applied Technologies" a short while after in 2004. The company name was changed again on 2 January 2020 to McLaren Applied Limited. In 2021 McLaren Group, suffering financial distress as a result of the Covid19 pandemic, sold the company to Greybull Capital. McLaren Applied has seen substantial new investment in its facilities, products and staff under Greybull's ownership.


Current business - Motorsport

In Motorsport McLaren Applied is perhaps best known for manufacturing the Standard Electronic Control Unit (SECU) for all F1 teams. McLaren Applied have supplied this electronic control unit since 2008, and most recently secured a further extension of this contract to be F1's ECU provider from 2026 - 2030. McLaren Applied also supply software, sensors and other components to multiple Formula One teams. In addition to Formula One, McLaren Applied also provides the engine control units used in the NASCAR Sprint Cup and
IndyCar Series The IndyCar Series, officially known as the NTT IndyCar Series for sponsorship reasons, is the highest class of American open-wheel car racing in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices of various sanctioning bodies sinc ...
. The two ECU's share a common base, and McLaren Applied have held the contract for IndyCar series since 2007 later 2010 as a standard ECU supplier (previously
IndyCar IndyCar, LLC (stylized as INDYCAR), is an auto racing sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. The organization sanctions two racing series: the premier IndyCar Series with the Indianapolis ...
's ECU supplier was
Motorola Motorola, Inc. () was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois. It was founded by brothers Paul and Joseph Galvin in 1928 and had been named Motorola since 1947. Many of Motorola's products had been ...
) and NASCAR Cup Series since 2012, who were also switching to
fuel injection Fuel injection is the introduction of fuel in an internal combustion engine, most commonly automotive engines, by the means of a fuel injector. This article focuses on fuel injection in reciprocating piston and Wankel rotary engines. All c ...
from carburation, had left an open choice. McLaren Applied produced the electric motor, transmission and electronics used in the Spark-Renault SRT 01E, the car used in the inaugural
Formula E Formula E, officially the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, is an open-wheel single-seater motorsport championship for electric cars. The racing series is the highest class of competition for electrically powered single-seater racing cars ...
season.


Current business - Automotive

McLaren Applied is a longstanding supplier of automotive grade components. It has specialised in vehicle electrification, particularly inverters. The current fifth generation product, known as IPG5, is based on an 800v Silicon Carbide architecture offering significantly improved efficiency, performance and control fidelity. The product has gained global recognition and secured orders with several car-makers.


Current business - Connected Intelligence

This McLaren Applied business delivers the most stable connectivity for dynamic environments, including public transport and mining, and industries far beyond, through the first-ever 5G edge computing antenna in addition to F1-derived software. It recently launched the Halo300 antenna range.


Current business - Lavoie

In August 2023, Lavoie, McLaren Applied's electric scooter unit, purchased Dutch
e-bike An electric bicycle, e-bike, electrically assisted pedal cycle, or electrically power assisted cycle is a bicycle with an integrated electric motor used to assist propulsion. Many kinds of e-bikes are available worldwide, but they generally fa ...
manufacturer
VanMoof VanMoof is a global bicycle manufacturer headquartered in the Netherlands. The company started in 2009 with a line of traditional bikes, later moving solely to Electric bicycle, e-bikes. With bikes produced in Taiwan and sold in 32 countries, i ...
.


Past business activities

McLaren Applied has a history of undertaking pioneering technical projects, often quite different to today's more focussed business. Here are some examples. In 2010, McLaren Applied developed systems that supported Team GB's
2012 London Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
medal bids in rowing, sailing and cycling. McLaren Applied worked with
Specialized Bicycle Components Specialized Bicycle Components, Inc., colloquially known as and stylized as SPECIALIZED, is an American company that designs, manufactures and markets bicycles, bicycle components and related products under the brand name "Specialized", the prem ...
to produce the Specialized S-Works+McLaren Venge racing bike, as ridden by
Mark Cavendish Sir Mark Simon Cavendish (born 21 May 1985) is a Manx people, Manx retired professional cyclist. As a Track cycling, track cyclist he specialised in the Madison (cycling), madison, points race, and scratch race disciplines; as a road racer he ...
.
GlaxoSmithKline GSK plc (an acronym from its former name GlaxoSmithKline plc) is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Pharmaceutics, pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with headquarters in London. It was established in 2000 by a Mergers an ...
(GSK) worked with McLaren Applied on developing drugs, vaccines and medication. McLaren Applied also helped develop some household brands of GSK including Aquafresh,
Horlicks Horlicks is a British sweet malted milk hot Malt drink, drink powder developed by founders Sir James Horlick, 1st Baronet, James and William Horlick. It was first sold as "Horlick's Infant and Invalids Food", soon adding "aged and travellers" ...
, Sensodyne, NiQuitin and more. McLaren Applied enabled GSK's toothpaste production line at
Maidenhead Maidenhead is a market town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the county of Berkshire, England. It lies on the southwestern bank of the River Thames, which at this point forms the border with Buckinghamshire. In the 2021 Census, ...
to cut the time it takes to change over one toothpaste brand or flavour to another from 39 minutes to 15 minutes, resulting in the factory becoming more productive to the tune of 6.7 million tubes of toothpaste a year. McLaren Applied handled electronics and data for the
Ekofisk Ekofisk is an oil field in block 2/4 of the Norwegian sector of the North Sea about southwest of Stavanger. Discovered in 1969 by Phillips Petroleum Company, it remains one of the most important oil fields in the North Sea. This was the first ...
drilling plant in the North Sea. The McLaren Applied ENERGY website stated: "McLaren Applied has taken its knowledge of analysing large data sets and applied it to drilling. Using real time data direct from the drilling head, the computer models developed by McLaren Applied constantly updates and provides insight that helps guide operational decision making on a day-to-day basis." McLaren Applied also worked with Wind Turbines companies and data centre companies. McLaren Applied also worked with IO on the design of their data centres and cooling systems for IO.


Awards and citations

The company has won multiple
Queen's Awards for Enterprise The King's Awards for Enterprise, previously known as The Queen's Award for Enterprise, is an awards programme for British businesses and other organizations who excel at international trade, innovation, sustainable development or promoting oppor ...
for innovation and international trade. McLaren Applied won the Motorsport Industry Association's prestigious 2022 Business Excellence award for Technology & Innovation. The company won multiple e-mobility awards recognising its contribution to vehicle electrification


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mclaren Applied McLaren Group Engineering companies of England Technology companies of England 2004 establishments in England Electronics companies established in 2004 Companies based in Surrey Woking