UK announces £89M of funding for EV technology
20 net zero tech projects aim to 'reinforce the UK as a world leader in zero emissions vehicle technology'
£89 million in joint UK government and industry funding has been announced to help the UK lead the way on cutting edge net zero tech, creating jobs and helping to grow the economy.
The funding has been awarded through the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK (APC), in support of ambitions to build an end-to-end supply chain for zero emission vehicles (ZEVs) in the UK. £45.2 million of this investment comes from government, backed by a further £42.7 million from the automotive industry.
The funding covers 20 projects which include developers of new offroad vehicles, net zero tractors and groundbreaking EV battery systems.
Amongst these are four collaborative R&D projects, five scale-up projects to assess if businesses in the automotive sector are ready for growth, and seven feasibility studies to prepare projects to develop large-scale manufacturing facilities in the UK.
Around half the projects involve power electronics.
APC Collaborative R&D (APC23) projects:
Aston Martin: Accelerate the development of a luxury battery electric vehicle platform, enabling a route to net zero, including vehicle lightweighting, a digital toolchain and electrification training.
Yasa: Makers of the world’s lightest in-wheel electric motor and acquired by Mercedes in 2021, is focused on creating an innovative combined electric propulsion & handling system, which aims to revolutionise existing EV (Electric Vehicle) systems.
Gestamp’s Autotech Engineering R&D UK: Leads a consortium on a project to create new design methodologies, processes, and materials for reduced embodied carbon footprint in product designs.
Perkins: The historic British engine maker, a subsidiary of Caterpillar, will develop a net-zero, hydrogen-hybrid, integrated power system for off-highway vehicles.
Automotive Transformation Fund Scale-up Readiness Validation (SuRV2) projects:
Helix: Hx-SuRV2: Validating Helix’s readiness for the scale-up of high power-density and scalable electric motor platforms focusing on ‘high-premium’ automotive applications.
Advanced Electric Machines: Project SIMPLE aims to establish an efficient, scalable UK-based manufacturing process for sustainably produced traction motor systems in electric passenger vehicles.
Niche Vehicle Network (NVN) Production Readiness Competition winners:
Ariel Electric with partners Rockfort Engineering and BAMD: Developing a zero emission Nomad, ZELV3, featuring a highly optimised EV powertrain and a lightweight aerodynamic body that improves vehicle efficiency.
CALLUM with partners Nyobolt and Codem: Developing a lightweight, rapid-charge, electric all-terrain vehicle (ATV), which will better the performance attributes of ICE ATVs that currently dominate the market.
Swifty Scooters with partners Chasestead and PMBL: Developing a UK made electric scooter optimised for superior rider safety and ensures a long product lifespan by way of premium build quality and enabling fix and repair within both the scooter design and battery design.
