Plug and Play, a corporate innovation platform based in Silicon Valley, has announced the launch of its first UK mobility programme.
Located at Jaguar Land Rover’s research collaboration hub at the National Automotive Innovation Centre, in Warwick, the initiative aims to develop a network of startups, corporates, investors and academics to explore the challenges and solutions of a sustainable future for the mobility sector.
The University of Warwick has been announced as the programme’s founding academic partner. Its role will include showcasing new research ready to be commercialised through licensing, startups, and spinouts, and engaging with students as the next generation of innovators, startup founders, and business leaders.
The UK’s Advanced Propulsion Centre, a non-profit organisation that facilitates funding to UK-based R&D projects developing low-carbon emission powertrain technologies, and Zenzic, a government and industry-backed organisation aiming to accelerate self-driving vehicle technology testing and development, have also joined the project.
The UK hub will interact with Plug and Play’s other mobility programmes, including those in Silicon Valley, Beijing, and Shanghai, which support over 70 mobility partners around the world, such as Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, and Porsche.
Kieran Borrett, director of Plug and Play UK, said: “The innovation required to deliver an economically and environmentally sustainable future for mobility – and one that also delivers high-quality customer experiences – will depend on collaboration between a broad spectrum of stakeholders from across the private and public sectors.”
Further partners to the programme will be announced soon.
