DRIVE35 launched to support zero emission automotive innovation

Mon 14 July 2025 View all news

The Advanced Propulsion Centre has officially launched 'DRIVE35' - a portal for a range of 'Demonstrate', 'Collaborate' and 'Feasibility Studies' competitions which are now live. Support funding is available through a range of competitions for automotive innovations that have the potential to accelerate the UK's transition to a zero emissions future.

DRIVE35 has three strategic priorities:

  • Supporting Innovation
  • Accelerating Scale-Up
  • Enabling Transformation

The APC is launching competitions across these strategic priorities, including: 

Demonstrate: This fast-start grant gives projects the opportunity to be awarded government matched-funding of up to £1.5 million to develop a digital or physical demonstrator to be showcased at the UK’s leading zero emission industry event, Cenex Expo 2026. Find out more and apply here.
 
Collaborate:  Up to £25 million (match-funded) is available for consortiums formed from the SME, OEM and academic communities, to accelerate the journey to commercialisation for late-stage, collaborative R&D projects. This is collaborative research and development at the cutting edge. Find out more and apply here.
 
Feasibility Studies: APC's Feasibility Studies competition provides you with a unique opportunity to produce a decision-ready business case, evaluate your product performance and gain commercial validation for future investment to enable rapid scale-up of your innovative zero emission technology. Find out more and apply here.
 
Automotive Transformation Fund: Expressions of Interest for capital funding are now open for the latest round of Automotive Transformation Funding, which now has a revised scope. Find out more and apply here.  

Delivered in partnership with the Department for Business & Trade, Innovate UK and the APC, the DRIVE35 programme has evolved from the UK Government’s Advanced Manufacturing Sector Plan, which outlines the commitment to a zero emission future, with an unprecedented £2 billion of grant funding available to 2030 for Automotive R&D, scale-up and transformation.

The programme will fund a wide spectrum of projects designed to help the transition to zero emission vehicle manufacturing - targeting established high-volume manufacturing and multi-billion-pound gigafactories, all the way to start-ups, prototypes and cutting-edge automotive innovation.  

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