The UK Government and the automotive industry have raised a total funding of £89 million to accelerate the country’s development of innovative electric vehicle technology.
Notably, the move is part of the Government’s efforts to advance as a global leader in clean energy vehicles.
Funding coverage
According to the press release, the funding will fuel 20 projects throughout four competitions. These include the following:
- Hydrogen-based offroad vehicle development
- New lithium scale-up factory
- Innovative EV battery systems
It is also worth noting that the funding package covers four collaborative R&D projects, five Scale-up Readiness Validation projects, and seven feasibility studies for large-scale production plant development preparation.
The fund is under the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK (APC) as the Government seeks to establish a strong, complete zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) supply chain.
The Government will provide the £45.2 million, while the automotive industry will raise the other £42.7 million.
“Together with industry, we’re providing a huge £89m of funding to drive 20 groundbreaking net zero tech projects, which will help grow the economy and create UK jobs in the industries of the future. From net zero tractors to cutting-edge battery projects, we’re taking decisive action to back the UK’s innovators and ensure we remain at the forefront of zero-emission vehicle technology.”
Nusrat Ghani, the UK Minister for Industry and Economic Security
Boosting EV tech development
The UK Government will allocate £67m of the funding for Research and Development projects relevant to EV technology development.
It expects such projects to enable the country to build a competitive automotive supply chain, boost industry growth, and offer new job opportunities.
British luxury sports car maker Aston Martin will receive funding for its luxury EV platform development under this program. Perkins will also gain support for developing a hydrogen-hybrid power system for offroad vehicle models.
Other initiatives
The UK Government also announced plans to offer £11.3m of funding to 12 projects under the second round of the Scale-up Readiness Validation (SuRV) competition and the fourth round of the APC’s Automotive Transformation Fund (ATF) feasibility studies competition.
It is worth noting that this funding will support Green Lithium’s new lithium factory proposal in Teesside. It will also aid Ilika’s solid-state battery technology project, among others.
“This latest round of funding coincides with the APC’s 10th anniversary. We have seen over £1.4 billion of investment into automotive projects since the APC was set up, and I am proud of the impact we have made here in the UK.
This latest announcement includes a diverse set of OEMs and suppliers that demonstrate the strength of UK automotive. They will further add to our portfolio of innovative projects and continue to drive the UK to deliver on its net zero ambition.”
APC Chief Executive Ian Constance
The UK Government believes the projects will generate over 4,700 new job opportunities for local residents. It will also save up to 65 million tonnes of CO2 emissions in the next ten years.
