Mahindra Racing
Mission-critical power that finishes the race: a custom 12V auxiliary battery for Mahindra Racing's Formula E car
Case Overview
Voxdale embedded a team of engineers and designers inside Cowboy to close the gap between design and manufacturing — leading redesigns, solving quality and cost issues, and managing the program with Cowboy's contract manufacturer.
Sector
E-mobility · Motorsport · Formula E
Client
Mahindra Racing, a works team in the ABB FIA Formula E Championship
Product
Custom 12V auxiliary battery powering mission-critical vehicle systems
Voxdale role
Design and development of the bespoke auxiliary battery, plus supporting engineering across gearbox, simulator and aerodynamics
Technologies
Custom 12V auxiliary battery engineering · gearbox enhancements · simulator enhancements · aerodynamic efficiency optimisation
How we worked
Collaboration between Voxdale's engineers and the Mahindra Racing team, embedded across several performance workstreams rather than delivering a single component
Hardest challenge
Guaranteeing dependable power to mission-critical systems within the weight, packaging and reliability constraints of a competitive race car
Outcome
A bespoke auxiliary battery delivering dependable operation during races, plus supporting performance gains across gearbox, simulator and aerodynamics
Case Overview
Voxdale embedded a team of engineers and designers inside Cowboy to close the gap between design and manufacturing — leading redesigns, solving quality and cost issues, and managing the program with Cowboy's contract manufacturer.
Sector
E-mobility · Motorsport · Formula E
Client
Mahindra Racing, a works team in the ABB FIA Formula E Championship
Product
Custom 12V auxiliary battery powering mission-critical vehicle systems
Voxdale role
Design and development of the bespoke auxiliary battery, plus supporting engineering across gearbox, simulator and aerodynamics
Technologies
Custom 12V auxiliary battery engineering · gearbox enhancements · simulator enhancements · aerodynamic efficiency optimisation
How we worked
Collaboration between Voxdale's engineers and the Mahindra Racing team, embedded across several performance workstreams rather than delivering a single component
Hardest challenge
Guaranteeing dependable power to mission-critical systems within the weight, packaging and reliability constraints of a competitive race car
Outcome
A bespoke auxiliary battery delivering dependable operation during races, plus supporting performance gains across gearbox, simulator and aerodynamics
Case Overview
Voxdale embedded a team of engineers and designers inside Cowboy to close the gap between design and manufacturing — leading redesigns, solving quality and cost issues, and managing the program with Cowboy's contract manufacturer.
Sector
E-mobility · Motorsport · Formula E
Client
Mahindra Racing, a works team in the ABB FIA Formula E Championship
Product
Custom 12V auxiliary battery powering mission-critical vehicle systems
Voxdale role
Design and development of the bespoke auxiliary battery, plus supporting engineering across gearbox, simulator and aerodynamics
Technologies
Custom 12V auxiliary battery engineering · gearbox enhancements · simulator enhancements · aerodynamic efficiency optimisation
How we worked
Collaboration between Voxdale's engineers and the Mahindra Racing team, embedded across several performance workstreams rather than delivering a single component
Hardest challenge
Guaranteeing dependable power to mission-critical systems within the weight, packaging and reliability constraints of a competitive race car
Outcome
A bespoke auxiliary battery delivering dependable operation during races, plus supporting performance gains across gearbox, simulator and aerodynamics
Executive Summary
In Formula E, a race car's mission-critical systems have to keep running for the full duration of a competitive race — anything less can end it before the finish.
Mahindra Racing needed a dependable, purpose-built power source for those systems.
Voxdale designed and developed a bespoke 12V auxiliary battery to supply that power, engineered for the reliability, weight and packaging demands of a race environment rather than adapted from an off-the-shelf part.
Alongside the battery, Voxdale supported the team across gearbox and simulator enhancements and aerodynamic efficiency optimisation, contributing to overall car performance and to the team's sustainable-innovation goals within the championship.
“We're deeply appreciative of the outstanding support and collaboration from Voxdale's skilled engineers, enhancing our team's capabilities.”
— Dilbagh Gill, CEO & Team Principal, Mahindra Racing
Executive Summary
Executive Summary
Client Context
Mahindra Racing competes in the ABB FIA Formula E Championship, the top-level all-electric single-seater racing series.
As a works team in a fast-evolving electric racing category, it operates under intense performance, reliability and regulatory pressure, where marginal engineering gains translate directly into on-track results.
Formula E also functions as a proving ground for sustainable e-mobility technology, and Mahindra Racing's collaboration with Voxdale was framed around improving the performance of its electric race cars while advancing sustainable innovation within the championship.
When the team needed bespoke engineering support — including a custom power source for mission-critical systems — it turned to Voxdale's engineers.
Client Context
Client Context
The technical brief
Design and develop a bespoke 12V auxiliary battery to power mission-critical systems in the Formula E car
Ensure dependable operation for the full duration of a competitive race
Meet the weight, packaging and reliability constraints of a race vehicle
Support wider performance work: gearbox enhancements, simulator enhancements, and aerodynamic efficiency optimisation
Advance sustainable innovation within the Formula E context
The technical brief
The technical brief
The harder, less obvious part
The brief carried constraints that pulled against each other and could not be solved one at a time:
Zero tolerance for failure. The battery feeds mission-critical systems, so a failure mid-race is not a quality issue — it is a lost race. Reliability had to be designed in from the start, not tested for afterwards.
Bespoke, not off-the-shelf. A standard auxiliary battery could not meet the packaging, mass and performance envelope of a competitive Formula E car, so the component had to be developed to fit the car rather than the car adapted around a component.
A regulated, fast-moving series. Formula E operates under strict technical and safety regulations that evolve season to season, constraining materials, architecture and safety design.
Multiple workstreams, one performance goal. Battery, gearbox, simulator and aerodynamics each had to contribute to the same end — a faster, more dependable car — which meant engineering that fit the team’s wider development programme.
The harder, less obvious part
The harder, less obvious part
What Voxdale Delivered
Voxdale engineered five generations of the C2K device in direct co-development with ITM's clinical research team.
Bespoke 12V auxiliary battery — design and development. Voxdale designed and developed a custom 12V auxiliary battery to supply power to the mission-critical systems in Mahindra Racing's Formula E vehicle, engineered to guarantee dependable operation during competitive races. This was a purpose-built component developed specifically for the car, not an adapted commercial unit.
Reliability and race-duration engineering. The battery was engineered to remain dependable for the full length of a race, under the vibration, thermal and electrical loads of a competitive Formula E environment.
Gearbox enhancements. Voxdale contributed to gearbox enhancements as part of the wider performance programme.
Simulator enhancements. Voxdale contributed to simulator enhancements supporting the team's development and driver preparation.
Aerodynamic efficiency optimisation. Voxdale supported aerodynamic efficiency optimisation to improve car performance.
What Voxdale Delivered
What Voxdale Delivered
How We Worked
Voxdale acted as an embedded engineering resource across several performance areas of the programme rather than as a single-component supplier.
Battery and electrical engineering — design and development of the bespoke 12V auxiliary battery
Mechanical engineering — gearbox enhancements
Simulation and aerodynamics — simulator enhancements and aerodynamic efficiency optimisation
The collaboration between Voxdale's engineers and the Mahindra Racing team was close enough that the team's CEO publicly credited it with enhancing the team's capabilities.
How We Worked
How We Worked
The Hardest Challenge — and How We Solved It
The challenge. Delivering a bespoke 12V auxiliary battery that would power mission-critical systems dependably for an entire competitive race, within the weight, packaging and safety constraints of a Formula E car.
Why it was difficult. Mission-critical means no acceptable failure mode: the component had to perform under race vibration, thermal and electrical stress every time, while staying light and compact enough to earn its place on the car and compliant with series regulations.
What would not work. An off-the-shelf auxiliary battery could not satisfy the combined packaging, mass, reliability and regulatory envelope of a competitive electric race car.
What we changed:
Designed the battery to the car. The unit was developed bespoke to fit the vehicle’s envelope and power demands rather than compromising the car around a standard part.
Engineered reliability in from the start. Race-duration dependability was treated as the primary design driver rather than a property to test for once the design was fixed.
The Hardest Challenge — and How We Solved It
The Hardest Challenge — and How We Solved It
Outcome
A bespoke 12V auxiliary battery designed and developed to power mission-critical systems, engineered for dependable operation during races
Gearbox enhancements delivered as part of the wider performance programme
Simulator enhancements delivered, supporting team development and driver preparation
Aerodynamic efficiency optimisation delivered to improve car performance
Public endorsement from Mahindra Racing's CEO & Team Principal, crediting Voxdale's engineers with enhancing the team's capabilities
Outcome
Outcome
What This Proves for Similar Teams
This case is for motorsport and high-performance e-mobility teams that need bespoke power and mechanical hardware engineered to survive a demanding, regulated, weight-critical environment.
It shows Voxdale can design and develop a mission-critical custom battery from scratch, and contribute across multiple performance workstreams — gearbox, simulator and aerodynamics — within one team's development programme, acting as an embedded partner rather than a single-component supplier.
What This Proves for Similar Teams
What This Proves for Similar Teams
Need power or mechanical hardware that can't afford to fail?
Voxdale engineers mission-critical components from scratch for demanding, regulated, weight-critical environments — and stays on as an embedded partner across your wider performance programme, not just a single deliverable. Explore our Energy & CleanTech capabilities or contact us to discuss your engineering challenge.
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© 2026 Voxdale BV
© 2026 Voxdale BV
© 2026 Voxdale BV