£73.5 million for low carbon vehicle technology projects

Business Minister Nadhim Zahawi has announced ten projects which will share £73.5 million government investment to develop green technologies.

The projects include the next generation of electric taxis, cars and vans, recyclable batteries, advanced electrical systems, and ultra-lightweight components.

This funding will contribute to the automotive sector’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic by safeguarding more than 14,000 UK research and manufacturing jobs. It will also enable the manufacture of a greater volume of low emission cars, commercial vehicles and components right here in the UK

The successful projects were chosen by the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC), which seeks to maintain the UK’s position as a centre of excellence for the research and development of low carbon vehicle technology.

The successful projects are:

LEVC – Electric Vehicle Evolution (Coventry): The London Electric Vehicle will develop a new battery designed specifically for its vehicles for higher performance and also to be reused and recycled

Constellium Ltd – ALIVE (Slough): This project will develop the manufacturing processes for light weight, crash-resistant battery enclosures. These will be used in ultra-low emission vehicles

Cummins Turbo Technologies Ltd – TRIDENT (Huddersfield): This project will look to develop and manufacture an all-new electrical turbo that has greater efficiency and is for use in fuel cell electric vehicles

Ford Technologies Ltd – eSHADOW (Warwick): This project will determine the technical, financial and environmental challenges of using advanced, lightweight materials in vehicle manufacturing

Jaguar Land Rover – Hi-VIBES (Coventry): A consortium of academics and industry will create a new electronic system that will be easier to build, as well as being lighter and cheaper

Avid Technology Limited – REVO (Cramlington, near Newcastle): It will help deliver improvements in electric and hybrid vehicle efficiency

TEVVA – SANGREAL (Chelmsford): This project will bench-test an innovative design of axle for 7.5 to 14-tonne commercial vehicles. It will improve safety through better impact robustness

Magnetic Systems Technology Ltd – Magtec (Sheffield): Magtec aims to become the UK’s only complete electric drivetrain Tier 1 supplier for commercial vehicles

BMW (Motorsport) Ltd – FutureBEV (Warwick & Newport): This project aims to deliver better powertrains that are more cost-efficient

Jaguar Land Rover – ZEUS (Coventry): This project will develop a high-performance four-wheel drive 400kW Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV)

The announcement was made at the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders’ virtual International Automotive Summit today.