The WMG (formerly Warwick Manufacturing Group) is to open the new centre with funds from the Government (£9m) and the lottery (£4m). Research will focus on the development of batteries for hybrid and electric-powered vehicles.
The centre, based within the High Value Manufacturing (HVM) Catapult at the University of Warwick, received £9m investment from the Government and £4m worth of lottery funding.
The Government has promised to invest £400m to develop the market for hybrid and electric vehicles over the next four years, which is currently worth around £250m in the UK.
Business Minister Michael Fallon said: “[This joint initiative] will put the UK in a much stronger, competitive position to capitalise on a growing worldwide market for low carbon vehicles, alongside other world leaders in the field including the United States, Japan and Germany.”
The Automotive Council Technology Group and the Technology Strategy Board (TSB) lobbied to secure the funding, pinpointing the job creation and export opportunity for exporting batteries as two of the benefits that growth in this sector will bring to the UK economy.
The centre will work closely with industry and other universities on joint research projects on companies in the sector, with the research expected to spill into other parts of industry.
David Bott, director of Innovation Programmes at the TSB said: “By locating the centre within the new High Value Manufacturing Catapult, it will be possible to draw on capabilities that have already been developed in energy storage and help to speed up the commercialisation of new products.”
“The benefits that this centre brings will also spill over into wider markets,” he added.
