Three UK-based zero carbon automotive projects have won GBP24.5m (US$33m) in government funding via the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC), securing almost 4,000 jobs.

The combined award provided by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and delivered by Innovate UK, will support the development of three projects.

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The total value of the funding will be at least GBP50m given industry contributions for the following projects:

  •  Hydrogen fuel cells for buses and large vehicles
  •  An electric bus drivetrain which integrates heating, cooling and ventilation to reduce energy consumption
  •  A lightweight electric drive unit for a variety of new vehicles which offers increased range, power and torque

The UK is committed to net zero carbon by 2050.

The current round of funding creates or safeguards almost 4,000 jobs in the UK, up- skilling employees in roles including research, development and manufacturing.

The three winning projects are:

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  • Jaguar Land Rover – CompETe
  • Intelligent Energy – Project Esther
  • Equipmake – CELEB 2

“Investing in cleaner, greener technologies for our automotive industry will help us reach our target to wipe out our contribution to climate change by 2050,” said Business Minister, Nadhim Zahawi.

Through the Advanced Propulsion Centre, we’ve provided over GBP420m to support ideas which have brought low or zero carbon vehicles to market.”

For his part, APC chief executive, Ian Constance, added: “The winning projects were selected following rigorous assessment and were ranked based on the value they create for the UK economy. These three projects all develop new UK production supply chains, as well as many hundreds of employment opportunities.

“We have high regard for the sharing of knowledge between industry and academia, therefore ensuring the creation of a highly-skilled and experienced zero carbon automotive sector.”

During an initial ten-year lifespan, the APC has a goal to save 50m tonnes of CO2 emissions from the automotive industry, supporting the government’s Net Zero plans.

The APC facilitates the relationship between government and companies leading UK-based projects aimed at advancing low-carbon automotive technology.

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