Leigh Christou celebrates 40 years in business

At the session on ‘Rewiring the DNA of Zero Emission Motorsport and How This Benefits Road Vehicles’, Matt explained how Viritech has radically redesigned the fuel cell powertrain with a complete suite of innovative energy management products to eliminate the weight penalty of zeroemissions powertrains, enabling zero-emissions vehicles (ZEVs) to achieve weight-parity with petrol or diesel vehicles for the first time. The Apricale is the only hypercar to provide a zero-emissions powertrain in a car whose weight is the same as a petrol-powered equivalent – and half that of some battery-electric equivalents.

Matt Faulks said: “In a world now flooded with ever larger and heavier hypercars, we were determined to prove there is a better way. Using expertise gained in F1 and other top motorsport series, we set the apparently impossible target of zero-emissions in a hypercar weighing 1,000kg. That is what led to the development of a unique powertrain using a combination of hydrogen fuel cells and fast charge/discharge batteries with advanced energy management to deliver a 1:1 power to weight ratio.”

Viritech is a world-leading developer of highperformance hydrogen powertrain solutions for the automotive, aerospace, marine and distributed power sectors.

The presentation covered the use of hydrogen fuel systems coupled with cutting-edge energy management and energy storage to enable fuel cell powertrains that are comparable in mass and performance with the highest-performing ICE powertrain options. Matt also explored how companies such as Viritech are pushing the limits of the technology in motorsport and high-performance road car applications, and how they can be applied to wider-ranging, real-world applications such as Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) and aerospace.

Lisa Bingley, Operations Director for the MTI, said they were delighted to have the Apricale at the MTI and added: “This is a subject close to our heart because the MTI is now offering specialist skills training in hydrogen-powered HGV and LGV electric vehicle fleets as part of the Hyve project, a further education collaboration led by North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College.

“We are offering one-day and three-day training courses for businesses and individuals in the automotive and logistics sectors to help them gear up for the potential that a switch to cleaner, greener hydrogen fuel could bring.”

Since it first opened its doors, the MTI has welcomed over 42,500 students and delegates. This includes over 3,100 studying for accredited qualifications from a Level 1 Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI) certificate up to Masters’ degrees, and over 850 apprenticeships at all levels.

Martin Watts, Corporate Fundraiser for Myton Hospice, receiving a cheque for £6,000 from the Directors Chris Christou and Matt Keeling

Local accountancy firm Leigh Christou celebrated its 40th year in business this month with a summer evening party at The Riverside Glasshouse in Jephson Gardens, Leamington Spa. The evening saw colleagues professional contacts and clients come together at the beautiful riverside venue, where they enjoyed a selection of street food, drinks and classical music from the Signature String Quartet.

As part of the anniversary celebrations, Leigh Christou proudly partnered with Myton Hospice charity and on the night they hosted an auction with a selection of amazing prizes, all of which raised a fantastic £6,000.

Chris Christou, Director of the firm said, “The summer evening party proved to be a great success and it was a great pleasure to see so many clients, colleagues and professional contacts with whom we have developed long and enduring relationships over such a long period of time, come together in celebration of this momentous achievement. It proved to be a tremendous evening and thoroughly enjoyed by all who attended, the success of which was further capped by the outcome of the auction which raised an enormous amount of money for a very worthwhile charity.”

Leigh Christou was established in 1983 and has provided excellent accountancy advice and services to businesses and personal clients across the Coventry and Warwickshire community for 40 years.