The Advanced Propulsion Centre UK (APC) has granted a share of £86.9m of government and industry funding into zero-emission vehicle technology.
The funding round includes £33.9m from the UK government combined with industry match-funding.
The package of funding has been divided between several project consortia, the Automotive Transformation Fund and feasibility studies to create business cases and scale-up projects.
Some of the companies leading the research consortia include Aston Martin, Yasa, Gestamp’s Autotech Engineering R&D UK and Perkins.
Aston Martin will use the funding to develop a luxury battery electric vehicle platform, including a digital toolchain and electrification training.
Other project focuses include creating an innovative combined electric propulsion and handling system, new design methodologies, processes and materials for reduced embodied carbon footprint in product designs and a hydrogen-hybrid, integrated power system for off-highway vehicles.
Ian Constance, CEO of APC, said: “The 23rd round of our collaborative R&D competition coincides with the APC’s 10th anniversary.
“We have seen over £1.4bn of investment into automotive projects since the APC was set up, and I am proud of the impact that we have made here in the UK. This latest announcement includes a diverse set of OEMs and suppliers that demonstrate the strength of UK automotive.
“They will further add to our portfolio of innovative projects and continue to drive the UK to deliver on its net zero ambition.”
It is hoped that the funded projects will support job and capability creation across the UK, as well as safeguarding existing R&D jobs.
Nusrat Ghani, minister for industry and economic security, said: “Together with industry, we’re providing a huge £89 million of funding to drive 20 groundbreaking net-zero tech projects which will help grow the economy and create UK jobs in the industries of the future.
“From net-zero tractors to cutting-edge battery projects, we’re taking decisive action to back the UK’s innovators and ensure we remain at the forefront of zero-emission vehicle technology.”
The Automotive Transformation Fund was established to support large-scale industrialisation and the transition to net zero in the UK.
Some of this funded work will include: a green lithium scale-up plant in Teesside; scaling up of high power-density electric motor platforms; establishing an efficient, scalable UK-based manufacturing process for sustainably produced traction motor systems in electric passenger vehicles; installing the UK’s first deep geothermal power plant at the United Downs Industrial Park in Cornwall; and advancing Ilika Technologies’s solid state battery technology.
Funded feasibility studies will focus on areas such as solid-state batteries, testing the feasibility of production of anode materials from recycled graphite and a graphite-silicon composite anode material, building solutions for the safe transportation and discharge of end-of-life EV batteries, establishing a graphite processing plant in the UK and study of innovative mineral processing routes to enable low-carbon production of cathode raw materials.
The second annual CiTTi Awards will celebrate innovation in the development or deployment of low- and zero-emission vehicles through the Clean Air Awards – Vehicles and Clean Air Awards – Projects categories. The ceremony will be on 21 November 2023 at the De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms in London. Visit www.cittiawards.co.uk to learn more about this unmissable event for the UK’s transportation sector – and to book your table today!
