Covid-19 Pandemic: What was the Dyson CoVent ventilator project?
In March 2020, at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, Boris Johnson – then the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom – called James Dyson with an urgent request for help. Britain, it was thought, needed to create 50,000 ventilators in just six weeks. The project was announced publicly four days later.
James Dyson accepted the request for help. Dyson repurposed facilities at Hullavington, Wiltshire, that had previously been dedicated to its electric car project and – within weeks – transformed the site into a medical-grade manufacturing facility. More than 450 engineers in the UK and Singapore paused their commercial projects and worked round-the-clock to support the response to a national emergency.
The Covid ventilator project – known as CoVent – successfully reached the medical-grade manufacturing stage and received strong feedback from clinicians, despite constantly evolving specifications coming from the Government and a very tight timeframe.
Thankfully, by mid-April it became apparent that the UK no longer needed additional ventilators, and the project was closed. However, Dyson decided voluntarily to bear the £20m costs associated with the project. Contrary to the misinformation and defamatory claims which are often circulated on social media, Dyson did not receive a penny of Government funding for the project, or any other Covid-related handouts.
Dyson remains very proud of what was achieved by its engineers and does not regret its contribution to the national effort in a time of such crisis. The speed in which the engineers were able to deliver the project in such challenging circumstances is testament to their hard work and capability.
At the time, James wrote:
“Dyson people welcomed the Government’s challenge and, working round the clock, developed an entirely new ventilator in 30 days. Mercifully, they are not now required in the UK but we don’t regret our contribution to the national effort for one moment.... Dyson has spent around £20m on this project to date, I will be funding this and we will not be accepting any public money. The team have worked 24/7 to design and manufacture a sophisticated ventilator in a very short timeframe – I pay to tribute to their exceptional expertise and commitment and hope they can spend this weekend with their families who will not have seen them for weeks."
FAQs
Was the Dyson Covent ventilator project publicly funded?
No. Dyson never accepted any public money for this project. In fact, Dyson voluntarily decided to bear the £20m costs when it became apparent that the ventilators were not needed by the NHS.
Did Dyson engineers fail to deliver the Covid-19 ventilators?
Absolutely not. The project – a Herculean effort by all involved, which remains a source of real pride for Dyson – ended only because the Government no longer required the additional ventilator capacity.
The project successfully reached the medical-grade manufacturing stage within six weeks and received positive feedback from clinicians. More than 450 engineers worked around the clock to deliver a ventilator solution under unprecedented circumstances and against rapidly changing requirements.
Did James Dyson lobby Boris Johnson, the UK Prime Minister, privately for tax changes for affected staff?
No, Dyson’s good intentions were misrepresented. James Dyson contacted Number 10 in response to a direct request from the Prime Minister for help securing ventilator supplies during a national emergency. Far from being private text conversations, James sent a record of these messages to officials in Number 10, and this is how they came to the BBC’s attention.
The BBC apologised for this misrepresentation:
“We wish to make clear that Sir James contacted Number 10 in response to the Prime Minister’s direct request to him for assistance in relation to the urgent need for ventilators and incurred costs of £20m which his company voluntarily absorbed in trying to assist in the national emergency. His text messages to the Prime Minister were also later sent to officials.”
Is James Dyson a Conservative donor?
No. James Dyson has never donated money to the Conservative Party. Several media outlets investigated claims made by the BBC suggesting that this is the case and concluded they were inaccurate, leading the BBC to issue a correction:
“We accept that Sir James Dyson is not a prominent Conservative supporter as was stated in some of our coverage of his text messages with the Prime Minister. The James Dyson Foundation made a charitable gift to support the Wiltshire Engineering Festival for school children. We accept that this does not signal affiliation to any political party and we would like to put the record straight.”
