Skip to main content

Major funding for UK’s low carbon automotive technology

Five new innovative projects to develop new low carbon and energy efficient technology in the automotive sector have been awarded US$107 million of joint UK government and industry funding. The measure, which is set to boost jobs and growth in the sector, was announced today by Business Secretary, Sajid Javid, on a visit to the Morgan Motor Company. The funding has been awarded by the Advanced Propulsion Centre, a 10-year, US$1.4 billion joint partnership between Government and the automotive industry. T
January 19, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
Five new innovative projects to develop new low carbon and energy efficient technology in the automotive sector have been awarded US$107 million of joint UK government and industry funding. The measure, which is set to boost jobs and growth in the sector, was announced today by Business Secretary, Sajid Javid, on a visit to the Morgan Motor Company.

The funding has been awarded by the Advanced Propulsion Centre, a 10-year, US$1.4 billion joint partnership between Government and the automotive industry. The latest round of funding is expected to create and protect 851 jobs and save more than 4.2 million tonnes of CO2, and it builds on the 10 low carbon projects already funded.

The five winning projects are expected to design new products and systems that will change the technology used in the automotive sector, and include companies working on technology from vans to high-end sports cars. The projects which will receive funds are: the London Taxi Corporation, for a project expected to deliver a series of light-weight, zero-emission capable, range extended vehicles; an innovative research project led by Jaguar Land Rover which will build up the automotive turbocharger supply-chain in the UK; Morgan Motor Company, to develop heavily down-sized, fuel efficient petrol engines coupled with the latest electrification technologies to produce hybrid sports cars and all-electric variants; a consortium led by AGM Batteries, for a project to develop the next generation of battery packs for high performance, low carbon vehicles; a consortium led by engineering firm Parker Hannifin has been awarded a grant to reduce the carbon footprint of electric forklift vehicles.

Announcing the funding, Javid said: “These new projects will cement the UK’s position as a leading global centre for low carbon innovation and manufacturing. Our fast-growing and diverse automotive industry has been especially successful at exporting high-value, high-technology vehicles all over the world, and our focus on next-generation innovation will ensure we can continue this progress and create even more high-skilled jobs.”

Between 2015 and 2020, the Government has committed to spending more than US$858 million to support the uptake and manufacturing of ultra-low emission vehicles (ULEVs) in the UK. This will ensure all cars and vans on the country’s roads will be effectively zero emission by 2050.

Related Content

  • September 5, 2013
    UK government launches new ultra low emission vehicles strategy
    Transport Minister Norman Baker has launched the UK government’s strategy, Driving the future today - a strategy for ultra low emission vehicles in the UK, to drive forward the ultra low emission vehicles (ULEVs) industry. The new strategy signals a major change in the way vehicles will be powered in the future and reaffirms the government’s commitment to provide new opportunities for the motor industry to help grow the UK economy.
  • July 20, 2015
    UK to lead the way in testing driverless cars
    The UK government has launched a US$30 million competitive fund for collaborative research and development into driverless vehicles, along with a code of practice for testing. The measures, announced by Business Secretary Sajid Javid and Transport Minister Andrew Jones, will put the UK at the forefront of the intelligent mobility market, expected to be worth US£1.4 trillion by 2025. The government wants bidders to put forward proposals in areas such as safety, reliability, how vehicles can communicat
  • September 7, 2012
    UK government announces investment in electric and hybrid battery research
    The UK Government has announced an investment of £9 million (US$14.4 million) with a further £4 million (US$6.3 million) from industry into new Energy Storage R&D Centre which will work to accelerate the development of the next generation of batteries for electric and hybrid vehicles. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills hopes that the new £13 (US$20.7 million) million centre, which will be based at the University of Warwick, will help the UK to capitalise on the growing electric and hybrid ve
  • September 13, 2018
    UK government reveals £400m EV charging network boost
    The UK government is providing £400m to create an electric vehicle (EV) charging point infrastructure, in partnership with the automotive industry. UK prime minister Theresa May says the government will ensure charge points can be easily accessed and available at motorway service stations and other petrol stations. There will also be £1.5bn for the development of ultra-low emission vehicles (ULEVS). Speaking at the country’s first Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Summit in Birmingham, May unveiled an ‘am