£89m funding boost for innovative electric vehicle initiatives

author: FutureCar Staff    

The government has announced the allocation of £89m in funding for 20 green transport technology projects. These projects aim to enhance the electric vehicle (EV) supply chain, develop zero emission off-road vehicles, and improve battery performance in the UK.

The funding has been divided among four innovation funding competitions and is expected to safeguard over 4,700 jobs. Additionally, it is projected to reduce emissions by almost 65 million tonnes over the next decade.

The funding package includes four collaborative R&D projects, five scale-up projects to assess the readiness of businesses in the automotive sector for growth, and seven feasibility studies to prepare for the development of large-scale manufacturing facilities in the UK.

The Advanced Propulsion Centre UK (APC) is responsible for awarding the funding, with £45.2m provided by the government and an additional £42.7m committed by the automotive industry.

Minister for Industry and Economic Security Nusrat Ghani expressed enthusiasm for the collaboration between the government and industry, stating that the funding will support groundbreaking projects in net zero technology. Ghani believes that these initiatives will contribute to economic growth and job creation in future industries.

The projects supported by the funding cover a wide range of areas, including Aston Martin's plan to develop a luxury battery electric vehicle platform and Perkins' work on a hydrogen-hybrid integrated power system for off-road vehicles.

Ian Constance, CEO of the APC, celebrated the awards coinciding with the organization's 10th anniversary. He emphasized the significant investment in automotive projects since the establishment of the APC, amounting to over £1.4bn. Constance expressed pride in the impact made in the UK and believes that the newly announced projects will continue to drive the country towards achieving its net zero ambition.

The APC's Collaborative R&D program has awarded over £67m, while an additional £11.3m has been allocated to 12 UK-based projects through the SuRV (Scale-up Readiness Validation) competition and the APC's Automotive Transformation Fund (ATF) feasibility studies competition.

Projects supported by the SuRV program include the construction of a lithium scale-up plant in Teesside by Green Lithium and the acceleration of scale-up for solid-state battery technology by Ilika Technologies.

The ATF Feasibility Studies program will provide funding to develop "decision-ready business cases" for various projects aiming to establish large-scale manufacturing facilities in the UK. Among the seven projects awarded funding are Cornish Lithium's establishment of a graphite processing plant for EV batteries and Aberdeen Minerals Limited's exploration of innovative mineral processing routes.

The remaining funding has been provided by the Niche Vehicle Network (NVN) Production Readiness Competition, with £1.1m awarded to four projects. These projects include a zero-emission Ariel Nomad performance off-road vehicle and a UK-made electric scooter from Swifty Scooters.

On the same day as the funding announcement, the Labour party confirmed its intention to reverse the government's plan to postpone the ban on the sale of new internal combustion engine cars and vans from 2030 to 2035. Shadow Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds argued that restoring the original 2030 target would provide clarity to the auto industry and encourage investment in the EV supply chain.

Labour's sectoral plan for the auto industry, to be unveiled by Reynolds, will include the possibility of co-funding new battery gigafactories, expediting planning processes, and implementing binding targets for local authorities to develop EV charging infrastructure.

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FutureCar Staff