Warwick engineers flying high as their eco-friendly plane battery business continues to expand

Two engineers who met at university are flying high as entrepreneurs after recent investment saw their eco-friendly battery business expand into larger premises.

Neofytos Dimitriou, 31 and Radovan Gallo, 30, both now based in Warwick, met whilst studying engineering at the University of Southampton and launched their aerospace startup Flux Aviation in August 2021.

Flux Aviation develops and manufactures ultra-high performance electric motors and batteries to build zero emission electric powertrains for aircraft, offering sustainable and cost effective power alternative to aircraft manufacturers.

Read more: New £5.5 million Space Business Centre set to open in Warwickshire

The current model in development is the FLUX-75 which offers 75kW of power for up to two hours of flying and is designed for light sport (LSA), kit-built and experimental aircraft.

The model comes with simple installation and is directly compatible with most aircraft powered by industry competitor Rotax 912 engine models, whilst offering cheaper fuel (electricity) costs, fewer parts to service and maintain and creating no emissions.

Following a recent round of investment, the business is now expanding after moving into a new unit at Space Business Centre Warwick.

The 35,000 sq ft development, created and developed by Warwick-based property company AC Lloyd Commercial, contains flexible multi-use units which are available on 30-day monthly rolling agreements.

The company were on the lookout for premises that combined both testing and office space, having previously worked from a co-working space in the WMG, University of Warwick and a manufacturing site near London.

Neofytos and Radovan found Space Warwick in August 2023 and were impressed by the diverse business community on the site and the close proximity to Coventry, Warwick and their universities.

Space Warwick also provided more space, allowing them to handle multiple aspects of the business from one location as the pair look to scale up in the coming months and years.

The business is currently building electric powertrains and conversion kits for the training aircraft market and supporting clients in European countries including Germany and Czech Republic to decarbonise the industry.

This summer, they also welcomed three university students for work experience placements and are now looking to hire two full-time engineers to help meet demand for their services.

Co-founder Radovan Gallo said: “We were interested in moving to Warwickshire because of its rich heritage in automotive and engineering industries.

“Following a recent round of funding, we started looking for a new base in which we could combine our design, manufacturing and testing operations, and Space Warwick with our chosen unit’s flexible mezzanine configuration seemed perfect for our needs.

“The move has allowed us to grow as demand increases, and enabled us to have had a successful summer internship program where the students explore both the technical and operational sides of working in the aerospace industry.

Visit Hampshire Biz News for bright, upbeat and positive business news from the county

“We are excited to continue building our base at Space Warwick and look forward developing our technology and making the aircraft industry greener.”

Katherine Skerry, Site Manager at AC Lloyd Space Business Centre Warwick, said: “It is wonderful to see how a move to Space Warwick has helped Flux Aviation centralise their operations as part of their growth plans.

“There continues to be high demand for units from small and medium sized business owners across a range of sectors throughout the region, and it is great to enable tenants like Neofytos and Radovan to keep rising to new challenges.”