About Clipper

Decarbonising.
Fast.

Transport decarbonisation is one of the biggest challenges we face in the race to save our planet.

Commercial transport has a high carbon footprint as well as causing dangerous levels of pollution in towns and cities.

We are passionate about enabling the best and fastest solutions.

Opportunity

Many vehicles are worth keeping, extending their life and minimising impact on the environment.

Our approach is enabling us to build a sustainable, disruptive and highly competitive EV business. Join us to drive strong investment returns in the fast-growing decarbonisation economy.

Mission

We have a vision to build large scale electric vehicle upcycling and take polluting vehicles off the road. We have developed a conversion system to deliver commercial EVs quickly and cost-effectively for a tiny carbon footprint.

Vision

Our approach is enabling us to build a sustainable, disruptive and highly competitive EV business. Join us to drive strong investment returns in the fast-growing decarbonisation economy.

Technology

Our proprietary technology for EV integration is currently deployed in 100% electric, converted London Taxi Cabs. Clipper Cabs were certified by Oxford City Council and successful road trials have reached a point where they will be rented to drivers.

Team

Dr. Alex Howard

CEO

20+ years experience in industrial engineering. BSc Engineering from Durham, MSc from Nottingham and PhD in Manufacturing Systems.

Broad and deep industrial experience in operations; including life-sciences, audio-visual tech, and telecoms; from global corporates to SMEs

Haydn Baker

CPO

35 years experience in the Automotive industry across initial specification, styling, design, build, validation, launch and post SOP.

20 years of delivery in the traditional OEM (McLaren). Last 15 years delivering full vehicle programs whilst building companies and teams from the ground up.

Richard Williams

NON-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Experienced Chairman, Non-Executive Director in public, private, large and small companies.

Investor Relations Director at Virgin Media and Altice delivering shareholder value. Led successful IPO and £13bn acquisition (Altice) and a £16bn company sale (Virgin Media.)

Partner Network

Sustainable together
Clipper is part of a network of industry leaders and innovators in sustainable transport.

At Clipper our partnerships span industry leaders like Centrus, Niche Vehicle Network, Innovate UK, and Birmingham and Oxford city councils.

We’re also aligned with media outlets such as Green TV and AutoExpress, and innovators like Hoppa.

Our collaboration extends to specialized firms like Oliver Penney Engineering, Sovereign Gears, Embedism and OpenInverter

Together, we’re steering the future of sustainable commercial transport.

Funding Partners

Founders’ Story

We were shocked by the data that came out in 2016 that poor air quality contributes to premature deaths of over 40,000 people in the UK (Royal College of Physicians).

Coupled with the climate crisis, the swift removal of diesel engines in towns and cities seemed essential and urgent. We decided to do something about it and focused on developing cost effective upcycling solutions for the vehicles with the biggest impact.

There are still over 6,000 diesel cabs operating in the UK. In the race to electrify we could lose the iconic London taxi from our streets. Taxi drivers need better options.

We developed an EV tech platform, proven in converted taxis with DVSA approval and over 20,000 miles of road testing. The Clipper Cab  can do up to 150 miles on a single charge and with a very low Total Cost of Ownership (TCO),  our platform is the perfect solution for commercial vehicles to go emissions free.

  • How do you make a black cab green?

    Oct 2023 | AutoExpress

    Down an unassuming cobbled mews just off the Elephant and Castle roundabout in south London, two LTI TX4 black cabs sit tight against some sprawling ivy. If you were only passing, you’d likely think nothing of it; until recently these previous-generation taxis were 10-a-penny in our country’s capital.

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  • Clipper Automotive to showcase its strategy at MOVE 2023

    June 2023 | FleetPoint

    Clipper Automotive, the start-up electric vehicle company, will be showing visitors to MOVE 2023 how it can save up to 10,000 London TX4 taxis from the scrapheap with its fully electric conversion.

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  • Clipper & Waverley Hoppa Community Transport join forces

    Sept 2023 | LinkedIn

    Clipper Automotive have joined forces with Waverley Hoppa Community Transport with the aim of converting their fleet of wheelchair accessible minibuses from diesel to all electric and zero emissions. Hoppa are a non-profit charity providing transportation to people who are unable to access ordinary transport for reasons of infirmity, disability, vulnerability or isolation.

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  • Dirty Vans: The pivotal barrier to decarbonised urban areas

    Nov 23 | Electric Drives

    Decarbonising commercial fleets could revolutionize our city centres for good, but how close are we to achieving this goal?

    To hit our decarbonisation goals, and to ensure cleaner, safer, and happier urban areas, the commercial fleet sector needs to change rapidly.

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  • Clipper Cabs – 100% Electric Taxis

    EV Powered | Success Stories

    Taxis are responsible for 17.7% of transport CO2 emissions in our city centres. Their drivers are mandated to switch to electric vehicles, but they are not given enough affordable choices. Further, scrapping purpose built vehicles and replacing them with new ones every 12 years is costly, both in terms of money spent and overall carbon footprint.

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  • Aug 2024 The Guardian

    Upcycling a black cab or bin lorry: growing industry converts old vehicles to electric

    Aug 2024 | The Guardian

    The boxy black vehicle is a familiar sight on London’s streets, but with a very different feel. After being retrofitted by a startup, Clipper Automotive, it has the smooth and near silent acceleration of an electric motor, replacing the previous juddering diesel engine. The taxi is part of a small but growing industry replacing polluting fossil fuel engines with much cleaner electric power.

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  • Waverley hoppa Community Transport have won the Commitment to Sustainability Award 2026

    Jun 2026 | LinkedIn

    Waverly hoppa Community Transport have won the Commitment to Sustainability award sponsored by FOR EV. Waverly hoppa’s Chairman of Trustees Robert Stansbury and General Manager, Richard Davies received the award along with Alex Howard from Clipper Automotive.

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