Funding awarded to twenty net zero transport projects

Twenty net zero technology projects have been awarded a share of £89 million government and industry funding. Projects include hydrogen-powered off-road vehicles, a new lithium scale-up plant and new EV battery systems.

The projects include include 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.

£45.2 million of this investment comes from Government, through the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK (APC), backed by a further £42.7 million from the automotive industry.

Winners of the latest collaborative R&D competition funding include Aston Martin, who are accelerating the development of a luxury battery electric vehicle platform and Perkins, who will develop a net-zero, hydrogen-hybrid integrated power system for offroad vehicles.

The projects are estimated to create or safeguard more than 4,700 jobs in total and save nearly 65 million tonnes of CO2 being emitted over the next decade as a result of the work undertaken by these four R&D projects alone.

£11.3 million has also been awarded to 12 UK-based projects funded through the second instalment of the SuRV (Scale-up Readiness Validation) competition and the fourth round of the APC’s Automotive Transformation Fund (ATF) feasibility studies competition.

The ATF’s Scale-up Readiness Validation (SuRV) projects will support scale-up projects to assess if businesses in the UK automotive supply chain are ready for growth and expansion.

Projects include Green Lithium who plan to build a lithium scale-up plant in Teesside, and Ilika Technologies who are working to accelerate the scale-up of Ilika’s solid state battery technology.

The ATF Feasibility Studies will produce decision-ready business cases, in preparation for projects which will develop large-scale manufacturing facilities in the UK.

The seven projects include Cornish Lithium, who are establishing a lithium processing plant in the UK to produce anode material for EV batteries, and Aberdeen Minerals Limited for the study of innovative mineral processing routes.

The support delivered through the APC is unlocking further private investment and supports the government’s ambitions to build an end-to-end supply chain for zero-emissions vehicles in the UK.

The announcement comes on top of funding also being invested by the Government through the Automotive Transformation Fund (ATF) to develop a high-value end-to-end electrified automotive supply chain in the UK.

This includes unlocking private investment in gigafactories, battery material supply chains, motors, power electronics, and fuel cell systems. The ATF is being delivered by the Department for Business and Trade in partnership with the APC.

Also announced are the winners of the Niche Vehicle Network (NVN) Production Readiness Competition, sponsored by the APC and supported by Innovate UK, provides grant funding to UK SMEs leading the way in sustainable, cutting-edge technology design.

A total of £1.1 million in grant funding has been awarded to four projects, including a zero emission Ariel Nomad – a low volume performance offroad vehicle – featuring a highly optimised EV powertrain, and also a UK-made electric scooter from Swifty Scooters, which is optimised for superior rider safety and ensures a long product lifespan.

After engagement with industry, DBT is building on programmes like the Advanced Propulsion Centre and taking decisive action to ensure future investment in zero emission vehicle manufacturing.