£91.7m UK automotive funding to help accelerate industry towards net-zero emissions

The £91.7m announced today, 18 August, has been awarded to four transformational programmes, all of which are designed to reduce carbon emissions, including a car battery with a similar driving range to internal combustion engines.

It is said that the projects could save nearly 32m tonnes of carbon emissions, which is equivalent to the lifetime tailpipe emissions of 1.3m cars, and secure over 2,700 jobs across the country.

Image courtesy of APC

UK Automotive Funding

The projects awarded funding are:

• BMW-UK-BEV, Oxford – £26.2m to develop an electric battery that will rival the driving range of internal combustion engines, helping put concerns over how far electric vehicles can travel to rest
• Project CELERITAS, Birmingham – £9.7m to create ultra-fast charging batteries for electric and fuel cell hybrid vehicles that can charge in as little as 12 minutes
• The Cummins-led BRUNEL project, Darlington – £14.6m to develop a novel zero emission, hydrogen-fuelled engine to help decarbonise heavy goods vehicles
• REEcorner, Nuneaton – £41.2m to radically redesign light and medium-sized commercial electric vehicles in Nuneaton by moving the steering, breaking, suspension and powertrain into the wheel arch enabling increased autonomous capability, storage space and design flexibility

The UK automotive funding will allow REE to facilitate mass production of its breakthrough REEcorner™ technology and electric vehicle platforms. Image courtesy of REE.

Minister for Investment Lord Grimstone said: “By investing tens of millions in the technology needed to decarbonise our roads, not only are we working hard to end our contribution to climate change, but also ensuring our automotive sector has a competitive future that will secure thousands of highly-skilled jobs.

“Seizing the opportunities that arise from the global green automotive revolution is central to our plans to build back greener, and these winning projects will help make the widespread application and adoption of cutting-edge, clean automotive technology a reality.

“The government has already announced the end of the sale of new petrol and diesel cars in the UK by 2030, putting the UK on course to be the fastest major economy to decarbonise cars and vans, and is currently consulting on phasing out the sale of new diesel and petrol heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) by 2040, as set out in the government’s Transport Decarbonisation Plan. The projects awarded funding today will help make the technological developments needed to meet these goals.”

Ian Constance, CEO at the Advanced Propulsion Centre,  said: “These projects tackle some really important challenges in the journey to net-zero road transport. They address range anxiety and cost, which can be a barrier to people making the switch to electric vehicles and they also provide potential solutions to the challenge of how we decarbonise public transport and the movement of goods.

“By investing in this innovation, we’re taking these technologies closer to the point where they are commercially viable, which will strengthen the UK’s automotive supply chain, safeguard or create jobs and reduce harmful greenhouse emissions.”