Startups
Published: July 24, 2023 | Updated: 15th November 2023
Tamara Ivancova, Founder of Amara Automotive, started her career in motorsport at the age of 15, but started to wonder if she could make more of an impact.
Tamara Ivancova, 16, on placement at MacLaren
“I was putting in crazy hours just to make the car go a little faster round the track, I wanted to do something more meaningful,” she explained.
And so, last summer, Tamara quit her job and set up her new company, taking the last year to develop Amara Automotive as part of the University of Southampton’s Future Worlds incubator.
“Transport is the biggest polluter, and I really thought I could do something about it.
Tamara, age 6
“When I looked at the most common types of journeys, 71 per cent in the UK are below five miles, and 63 per cent are made by just one person.
“These are the sort of trips which are perfect for cycling or similar travel methods with negligible emissions – I wanted to figure out why people were still using their cars.”
Tamara with a human-powered aeroplane
In her spare time, Tamara is involved in human-powered flight, which uses craft with a similar wingspan to a private jet, but weighing only 40kg.
“From this, I know I could manufacture a high-performance machine in an efficient way.
“Putting these together, I realised the transport industry needs something lightweight, but with high performance, which can be done with some clever manufacturing methods.”
This was when Tamara came up with the Elecy. Most easily described as a four-wheel electric bicycle, it mixes the comfort of a car with the negligible emissions of an e-bike.
The Elecy is fully enclosed, with space in the back for a child and 300 litres of storage. In wind tunnel testing, a scale model had 86.5 per cent lower drag than a standard upright bike.
A render of the Elecy
Amara Automotive has also developed manufacturing technology which allows them to make the chassis and panels from either recyclable or renewable materials, with an Innovate UK grant to further develop this.
“The main composite for the chassis and body is recycled carbon fibre. We’re using offcuts from the aviation and wind turbine industries, which are recycled through a partner.
“Our key ethos is to minimise emissions at every stage, from production to usage to end of life.
“With the end of life we’re focused on maximising the life cycle so the end point is as late as possible by integrating upgradability into the vehicle which will mean you can keep having the latest technology without having to buy a new vehicle and scrap the previous.
A scale model of the Elecy used in the wind tunnel to test drag
“The main point to remember is that we’re aiming to replace cars, and the Elecy weighs 98 per cent less than the average car. As such, the amount of materials which would be either scrapped or reused at the final stage are significantly lower.”
Much further in the future, Tamara hopes to apply the technologies Amara Automotive are developing for the Elecy to more vehicles, with the aim of further disrupting the transport industry.
“To make net-zero happen, there’s a desperate need to make vehicles more efficient.
“We’re trying to let people maintain their travel freedoms, in a comfortable and practical way, while offering a solution that’s as low impact as we can.
“It’s about minimising the number of consequences, to make something that very cool and a desirable way to travel.”
