City factory heat exchangers in Dakar Rally

Hi-tech heat exchangers, developed by Darnall-based Nelson Heat Transfer, are being used to cool the engine, supercharger, transmission and differential of British-built off-road specials as they cross 6,000 kilometres - 3,700 miles - of baking dersert.

The vehicle - the Bowler Nemesis - is the brainchild of Bowler Off-Road, based in Hazelwood, near Belper, which has been designing an building off road competition vehicles for 20 years.

Bowler needed cooling systems which were not only robust enough to survive the rigours of the rally, which starts in Portugal in January and passes through Morocco and Mauritania before finishing two weeks later in Senegal, but could also be easily cleaned, repaired and replaced.

Nelson - also known as NHT Heat Exchangers - had just the answer.

The Sheffield company, founded in 2000 by brothers Wayne and Glen Nelson, makes heat exchangers for use in everything from power stations to the cool suits worn by fighter pilots and has developed a revolutionary heat exchanger, dubbed the Clix Modular Thermal Solution, which fits Bowler’s bill.

Although the Clix was designed to replace conventional aluminium cooling systems used in heavy industry, which are struggling - and often failing - to cope with the temperatures and stresses modern equipment is putting on them, their modular construction means they could easily be adapted for use on the Nemesis.

And, with the prototype Clix exceeding all expectations by achieving a five fold improvement on the current industry standard, it looks to be a perfect answer to the desert temperatures.

“There are many benefits with Clix – the individual units are lightweight, so they are both easily transportable and easily stored,” said Wayne Nelson.

“They are also simple to maintain and repair. The Bowler Nemisis will be really put through their paces, travelling in extreme conditions across adverse terrain, never mind the amount of thrashing they get from the drivers.”

Wayne Nelson is full of praise for the help provided by Business Link South Yorkshire and its adviser David Bennett. “We couldn’t have got to where we are now without David’s mentoring.”