£2 million contest to eliminate carbon emissions in UK transportation

author: FutureCar Staff    

The UK government has launched a £2 million competition aimed at decarbonising transport across the country. In line with the government's commitment to zero-emission vehicles by 2035, the Transport Decarbonisation Demonstrators programme invites businesses to pioneer emission-reducing transport solutions.

The Department for Transport (DfT) has unveiled the programme, which aims to foster collaboration between businesses and local authorities to pioneer and test innovative transport schemes. The goal is to achieve long-term emission reductions. The programme is set to open for applications on 27 November 2023 and conclude on 8 January 2024.

The competition is open to all UK businesses and invites applicants to seek grants of up to £500,000 to execute pioneering trials targeting local transport challenges. Notably, 50% of the fund is earmarked for rural areas, highlighting the commitment to leveraging technology and innovation to address unique challenges such as job access and social isolation.

The trials funded by the competition aim to shape the future of green transport systems while enhancing the range and accessibility of transport options available to passengers. The competitive grants will be administered by Innovate UK, the national innovation agency under UK Research and Innovation.

Mike Biddle, Executive Director Net Zero at Innovate UK, emphasized the importance of taking a place-based approach to decarbonising transport systems. He stated that this is critical to reaching net zero targets and building key partnerships between local authorities and businesses for maximum impact.

The UK government's Transport Decarbonisation Plan aligns with this announcement, furthering the commitment to drive decarbonisation efforts at the local level. The goal is to create greener villages, towns, and cities.

This initiative builds upon the success of the Transport Research Innovation Grants (TRIG) local decarbonisation call from 2022, which funded 20 innovators developing early-stage solutions to local decarbonisation challenges.

The government's commitment to green transport is also demonstrated by its recent commitment to achieving zero-emission vehicles by 2035. This ambitious target mandates that 80% of new cars and 70% of new vans sold in Great Britain must be zero-emission by 2030.

FutureCar Staff