£106m for green batteries, vehicles and refuelling

A £106 million investment into projects developing green batteries, vehicle and refuelling technology will be unveiled by the Prime Minister at the country’s first ever Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Summit, which takes place today (11 September)

At the summit, the Prime Minister will also host an automotive roundtable with leading supply-chain companies from Germany, the USA, Japan, China, Spain and India, to explore what more the government and industry can do together to accelerate the development of the zero-emissions market and to highlight the UK’s strong offer.

The government will also unveil a new, international declaration that will forge the way for the worldwide deployment of green vehicles, and the introduction of smart, zero-emission infrastructure.

The first signatories to the ‘Birmingham Declaration’ include Italy, France, Denmark, the United Arab Emirates, Portugal, Belarus and Indonesia, with more nations currently in talks to sign up. This will form the basis of increasing international engagement at climate conferences throughout the year to accelerate the global transition.

The Prime Minister is expected to say: "I want to see Britain, once again, leading from the front and working with industries and countries around the world to spearhead change.

"That is why I have set this country an ambitious mission. To put the UK at the forefront of the design and manufacturing of zero-emission vehicles, and for all new cars and vans to be, effectively, zero-emission by 2040.

"Already, we are taking significant strides forward. Our electric UK-manufactured cars account for one-in-five sold in Europe. Our batteries are among the best in the world.

"And our Road to Zero Strategy is the most comprehensive plan globally – mapping out, in detail, how we will reach our target for all new cars and vans to be, effectively, zero-emission by 2040 – and for every car and van to be zero-emission by 2050.

"Today we have provided over £100 million of funding for innovators in ultra-low emission vehicles and hydrogen technology. With a further £500 million of investment from key industries in this sector.

"These measures will drive the design, use, uptake and infrastructure necessary for cleaner, greener vehicles – and in doing so, it will help us drastically reduce a major contributor to our global warming emissions, as we seek to meet the Paris Climate Change Agreement."