£91 million funding for innovative low carbon automotive tech projects announced

Wed 18 August 2021 View all news

The Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) has announced almost £92m investment in technology that could make range anxiety a thing of the past and accelerate the decarbonisation of logistics, commercial and high-performance vehicles.

The funding includes support for the development of electric vehicle (EV) batteries with a range similar to internal combustion engines and which can charge in as little as 12 minutes and a similar driving range to internal combustion engines.  

Four projects have been awarded funding through the APC 18 Collaborative Research and Development competition, which supports the development of innovative low carbon automotive technology.

The projects awarded funding are:

  • BMW-UK-BEV, Oxford - £26.2 million to develop an electric battery that will rival the driving range of internal combustion engines, helping put concerns over how far electric vehicles can travel to rest
  • Project CELERITAS, Birmingham - £9.7 million to create ultra-fast charging batteries for electric and fuel cell hybrid vehicles that can charge in as little as 12 minutes
  • the BRUNEL project, Darlington - £14.6 million to develop a novel zero emission, hydrogen-fuelled engine to help decarbonise heavy goods vehicles
  • REEcorner, Nuneaton - £41.2 million to radically redesign light and medium-sized commercial electric vehicles in Nuneaton by moving the steering, breaking, suspension and powertrain into the wheel arch enabling increased autonomous capability, storage space and design flexibility

Minister for Investment Lord Grimstone said: "The Government has already announced the end of the sale of new petrol and diesel cars in the UK by 2030, putting the UK on course to be the fastest major economy to decarbonise cars and vans, and is currently consulting on phasing out the sale of new diesel and petrol heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) by 2040, as set out in the Government’s Transport Decarbonisation Plan. The projects awarded funding today will help make the technological developments needed to meet these goals."

Ian Constance, CEO at the Advanced Propulsion Centre, said: "These projects tackle some really important challenges in the journey to net-zero road transport. They address range anxiety and cost, which can be a barrier to people making the switch to electric vehicles and they also provide potential solutions to the challenge of how we decarbonise public transport and the movement of goods.

"By investing in this innovation, we’re taking these technologies closer to the point where they are commercially viable, which will strengthen the UK’s automotive supply chain, safeguard or create jobs and reduce harmful greenhouse emissions."

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