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£88m funding boost for zero emission vehicle tech firms

03 October 2024 #Features & Interviews #TNB News

Last month an £88m package of joint industry and government funding for 46  projects that will help boost the development of next generation zero emission vehicle technologies was announced.

A total of £44.5m of the investment has been provided by the government’s Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC), backed by a further £43.5m from the automotive industry, and projects across five competitions include work on the production of an electric fire engine.

Sarah Jones, Minister for Industry and Decarbonisation, said the funding will support projects and skilled jobs that will lower emissions and drive green growth across the country.

She added: “Working in partnership with industry this funding will drive innovation and propel the development of next generation zero emission vehicle technologies.”

Competitions include the APC Collaborative R&D (APC25), which is providing £60m of funding and is projected to create or safeguard more than 3,500 green jobs, while reducing CO2 in manufacturing and usage of zero emission vehicles.

For example, Cummins has received a grant of £2.4 million for its £4.8 million project to develop a digital analysis tool to enable the design of highly reliable and durable components used in hydrogen-fuelled powertrains.

From the same fund, Farnham-based Protean Electric, developer of in-wheel motors (IWM) for the commercial vehicle industry, has secured a £5.5 million grant.

The Power Electronics Upscale for Localisation and Sustainable Electrification (PULSE) project, will be led by Protean and will advance its products and deliver a dedicated make-like-production pilot line for power electronics systems used by IWM and other net-zero products.

Unipart will bring its manufacturing expertise to create a flexible assembly line, that can build a mixture of inverters and converters, including Viritech’s advanced DC/DC 800V converter.

The collaboration includes sensor technology from Transense and recycling processes from Hypromag, and will further improve efficiency and sustainability using research from Coventry University and Warwick Manufacturing Group.

Andrew Whitehead, Chief Executive Officer of Protean Electric, said: “We are thrilled that project PULSE has been selected by the APC and the new Government, as it supports Protean to continue to lead electric vehicle innovation from our UK development centre.

“Protean’s state-of-the-art in-wheel motors are a key solution to improve range, user experience and most importantly affordability of electric vehicles.”

Also, a total of £9.1m of grant funding has also been awarded to 11 fast-track projects funded through APC’s third Advanced Route to Market Demonstrator competition (ARMD3), which aims to rapidly develop automotive products with a clear route to market.

Successful projects here include work by Botanic Energy, which is replacing diesel-driven refrigeration with energy-efficient thermoelectric systems, for Sainsburys to offer last-mile delivery with zero emission refrigerated vehicles.

In addition, Equipmake has been awarded £350,000 in funding for the co-development of an all-electric zero emission fire truck over the coming 12 months, with the vehicle due to be debuted at the CENEX Expo event in September next year before being extensively trialled by the London Fire Brigade.

The project, called Zero Emission Pumping Appliance (ZEPA), is a collaboration between Equipmake, emergency vehicle manufacturer Emergency One, the London Fire Brigade and CENEX.

A key innovation for this new vehicle will be a novel ‘daisy chain’ energy management system, created by Equipmake, which will enable firefighting with fully battery-electric fire engines – a key step in supporting the London Fire Brigade in its transition to zero emissions.

It is also anticipated that this technology will have other applications in addition to fire trucks.

Ian Foley, CEO of Equipmake, said: “On behalf of the consortium, we are delighted that project ZEPA has been selected for crucial funding which will support the development of a much-needed fully electric specialist emergency vehicle.

“Equipmake is a sector-leader, not just in the design, development and manufacture of electric powertrain technology for use in heavy vehicles, but also in innovations in energy management.

“Our ‘daisy chain’ system has multiple applications – we are excited to bring it to market.”

The Technology Developer Accelerator Programme (TDAP) has awarded more than £2.3m in government grant funding to 14 companies specialising in zero emission technologies which tackle transport decarbonisation.

Winners include Glasgow-based TUAL Technology, which will use the funding to develop its PowerBank Pro-Charging solutions for the van market.

Focusing on the electric light commercial vehicle (eLCV) and the electric heavy goods vehicle (eHGV) segments, TUAL’s modular powerbank solutions cover a range of use-cases for fleets.

Earlier this year, the company unveiled its swappable batteries for eHGVs, capable of being swapped in and out in under five minutes.

The PowerBank Pro-Charging offering is available in 120kWh and 180kWh configurations and can add up to 120 miles of range, depending on application.

Developed in collaboration with some of Europe’s largest fleet operators, these powerbanks offer a modular and scalable solution that can be integrated seamlessly into existing eHGV platforms.

Philip Clarke, CEO and Founder of TUAL, said: “Providing van-fleet drivers with guaranteed access to the energy they need, at the time and place of their choosing, plays a critical role in transforming vehicle suitability, driver satisfaction, and fleet profitability.

“Accelerating the adoption of electric commercial vehicles is our singular mission, and we’re excited to partner with the Advance Propulsion Centre as part of TDAP.”

Seven projects will also receive a government investment of £2.3m through the fifth round of Automotive Transformation Fund (ATF) Feasibility Studies with the aim to electrify Britain’s automotive sector and protect its competitiveness in the global market.

Lastly, the Niche Vehicle Network (NVN) has also awarded more than £1m in government grant funding to six UK SMEs and their suppliers to bring innovative technologies from demonstration through to production readiness in a compressed timescale.

Ian Constance, chief executive officer at APC, said: “From collaborative projects to further advance the UK’s excellence in automotive production, to fast-start demonstrators delivering cutting-edge technology in a short period of time, through to our award-winning SME programme, it’s important we continue to show that the automotive sector is vital to the country’s net-zero goals and future economic growth, further evidencing that the UK is a highly investable opportunity.”

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