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.

Related Content

  • September 18, 2017
    US DOT announces grants to support high-tech low-no buses, American manufacturing
    The US Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has announced US$55 million in grant selections through the Low or No Emission (Low-No) Vehicle program, which funds the development of transit buses and infrastructure that use advanced fuel technologies. Fifty-one projects in 39 states will receive a share of the funding, including the City of Lubbock, Texas and local transit agency Citibus, the Jacksonville Transportation Authority (JTA) in Florida and the Alaska Department of
  • July 4, 2013
    LowCVP study identifies cost-effective options for cutting UK bus emissions
    A new report prepared for the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership (LowCVP) by Ricardo indicates that a wide range of innovative technologies can cut carbon emissions from buses and provide a short-term payback at current fuel prices and subsidy levels. The aim of the LowCVP study was to identify a range of low carbon fuels and technologies which can cost-effectively reduce well-to-wheel CO2 emissions for urban buses in the UK. The report developed technology roadmaps to illustrate when these technologies are lik
  • September 20, 2013
    Driverless vehicles ‘need quality road markings’
    UK company Quality Marking Systems has released its comments on a recent road safety article in the Road Safety Markings Association’s (RSMA’s) Top Marks magazine entitled ‘ERF at the forefront of improving road safety in Europe’. The article examines the growing importance of a well maintained road infrastructure and indicates that the European Union Road Federation (ERF) has initiated a very promising cooperation with the European Road Assessment Programme and the European Association of Vehicle Manuf
  • May 11, 2012
    Scale of Germany’s electromoblity plans revealed
    In view of Germany's ambitious electromobility target - one million electric cars in use in 2020, compared to 4,500 e-cars nationwide at present - the automobile industry plans to offer more than 15 new electric vehicle models in the coming two years, according to the National Platform E-Mobility's (NPE Nationale Plattform Elektromobilität's) third report. First application fields for electrified cars could be car sharing models and public authority vehicle fleets.