Skip to main content

UK Government funding for driverless and low carbon projects

The UK Government has awarded US$137 million (£109.7 million) of funding, alongside significant funding from industry, to help develop the next generation of driverless and low-carbon vehicles, as part of the Industrial Strategy and the government’s Plan for Britain. Seven innovative projects will share grants from the latest round of funding from the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC), the joint industry-government programme to put the UK at the forefront of low carbon vehicle technology. The projects,
April 12, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
The UK Government has awarded US$137 million (£109.7 million) of funding, alongside significant funding from industry, to help develop the next generation of driverless and low-carbon vehicles, as part of the Industrial Strategy and the government’s Plan for Britain.

Seven innovative projects will share grants from the latest round of funding from the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC), the joint industry-government programme to put the UK at the forefront of low carbon vehicle technology.

The projects, led by 1731 BMW, 5561 CNH Industrial, 278 Ford Motor Company, 7998 Jaguar Land Rover, Penso Consulting, 8309 Westfield Sportscars and Williams Advanced Engineering, cover a wide range of new innovations.

A further seven projects have won funding from the government’s Office for Low Emissions Vehicles (OLEV) to advance the development of a range of ultra-low and zero emissions vehicle technologies in the UK. These projects will be led by Equipmake, Ford Motor Company, Great British Sports Cars, Jaguar Land Rover, 5606 Ricardo Innovations, Romax Technology and 6616 Wrightbus.

In a fresh commitment to supporting these innovative technologies, the government has also announced that people buying an electric vehicle will continue to benefit from up to US$5,600 (£4,500) off the cost of an ultra-low emission car, up to US$3,000 (£2,500) off a hybrid and receive US$ 625 (£500) towards the installation of a charge point in their home.

It also announced the first winners of the second round of its connected autonomous vehicles competition, CAV2, with projects set to receive a share of up to US$39 million (£31 million), match funded by industry.

The CAV2 competition includes funding from the UK’s innovation agency, Innovate UK, for four one-year research and development projects supporting CAV vehicle developments, specifically in the areas of energy reduction and air quality improvements. The government will launch its third CAV competition, CAV3, to fund further industry-led research and development projects later in the year.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Roads revolution adds 900 miles of extra capacity
    August 27, 2014
    Road users in the UK will see around 900 extra lane miles of road capacity added to England’s strategic highway network by 2021, a third more than was provided in the previous decade. The boost is thanks to a huge US£39.7 billion investment, the biggest since the 1970s, which will see annual funding for enhancements to motorways and major A roads triple over the next six years. Investment includes more than US$15 billion on maintenance, US$10 billion of which will be spent on resurfacing 3,000 miles of t
  • VW and Centrica offer EV home charging
    March 17, 2020
    Energy company Centrica has entered a three-year agreement with Volkswagen (VW) to provide home charging solutions for electric vehicle (EV) drivers in the UK.
  • EasyMile partnership to bring autonomous technology to bus
    December 1, 2017
    EasyMile has partnered with Iveco, Sector, Transpolis, Isae-supaero, Ifsttar, Inria, and Michelin to integrate autonomous technology into a full-size 12-meter bus. The project has been funded by French government through a Fonds Unique Interministériel program as well as certified and supported by Cara, Aerospace Valley and Nouvelle France Industrielle. The 100-passenger capacity bus will either be hybrid or electric powered and draws on EasyMile’s experience of developing the EZ10 driverless shuttle in
  • Virtual modelling shows driverless cars could cut delays in the future
    January 9, 2017
    Driverless cars could significantly reduce delays according to a new study by the Department for Transport (DfT). The project used computer software to create virtual models of different parts of the UK road network including urban roads and a 20km motorway section. Delays and traffic flow were all shown to improve as the proportion of automated vehicles increased above specific levels.