UK minister for industry and decarbonisation Sarah Jones has announced £88m of joint industry and government funding has been awarded to 46 projects aiming to help boost zero-emission vehicle technology.
Some £44.5m of the investment has been provided by government and is backed by a further £43.5m from the automotive industry.
Projects set to receive investment from the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK’s Collaborative R&D competition include the development of electric trucks for the NHS and Royal Mail, e-motorcycles and wireless charging solutions.
Successful applicants include Protean Electric, which is working to bring to market new, UK-developed, power-electronics products, and Gordon Murray Group, which is developing an ultra-lightweight vehicle platform for future vehicles.
The total investment in these projects is £22.5m, including a government grant of £11m. Both projects combined are estimated to save nearly 13 million tonnes of CO2, while safeguarding and creating nearly 1,000 jobs.
Jones said: “Working in partnership with industry this funding will drive innovation and propel the development of next generation zero-emission vehicle technologies.
“From Royal Mail trucks delivering our post, to cleaner, greener bus journeys, this funding will back projects that will lower emissions across the country, while also supporting skilled jobs.”
Other successful projects, across five competitions, include eight collaborative R&D projects, seven Automotive Transformation Fund feasibility studies looking into battery and motor technologies, 11 projects aiming to rapidly develop automotive products, 14 micro-businesses, SMEs and start-ups specialising in zero-emission technologies that tackle transport decarbonisation and six projects exploring zero tailpipe-emission vehicle technologies within the niche vehicle sector.
A report from the Faraday Institution (FI) published today predicts that, by 2030, the UK will need battery capacity of around 110GWh per annum, the equivalent of six gigafactories.
The FI predicts that 270,000 UK jobs could be supported by the electric vehicle and battery industry to 2040.
Achievements and innovations in sustainable transport will be celebrated at the third annual CiTTi Awards, which will be held on 26 November 2024 at De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms in London. Nominations are open now! Please visit www.cittiawards.co.uk to learn more about this unmissable event for the UK’s transportation sector – and to book your table!
