EMPEL Systems has confirmed its involvement in Shell’s Triple 10 Challenge, a co-engineering programme focused on improving battery electric vehicle performance across charging speed, energy efficiency, and lifecycle carbon emissions.
The programme sets three benchmarks for a single concept vehicle: sub-10-minute charging, 10km/kWh efficiency, and a 10-tonne lifecycle CO2 footprint. Shell is using the initiative to examine how thermal management, lightweight materials, and integrated vehicle engineering can reduce the trade-offs that shape current EV design.
Current battery electric vehicle development remains heavily influenced by battery capacity, vehicle mass, charging power, and thermal stability. A larger battery can extend range, but it can also add weight, increase material demand, and place greater pressure on cost and lifecycle emissions. Shell’s programme brings those competing engineering priorities into one set of measurable targets.
EMPEL Systems, a UK-based electric propulsion technology specialist, contributed to the London announcement through a fireside panel discussion. Its involvement reflects the growing role of specialist propulsion and thermal engineering companies in programmes where charging performance, energy use, and vehicle-level efficiency must be developed together rather than optimised in isolation.
“Achieving step-change improvements in electric vehicle performance requires a fundamentally integrated approach to engineering. Initiatives such as the Triple 10 Challenge demonstrate what is possible when leading organisations collaborate across disciplines to address efficiency, charging, and sustainability simultaneously. We are pleased to be part of this important industry conversation and look forward to supporting the next phase of development,” said Jason King, Co-Founder and Director of EMPEL Systems.
Faster charging increases thermal loads, while higher efficiency depends on a combination of vehicle architecture, powertrain performance, and energy management. The Triple 10 targets give Shell and its partners a framework for testing how far those systems can be pushed within a single concept vehicle.
Shell has said the project will address charging concerns, range anxiety, affordability, and sustainability through an industry partner programme. More detail on the concept vehicle is expected at its official unveiling in June 2026.
Further details of the programme are available on Shell’s Triple 10 Challenge project page.
