APC UK announces winners of EV tech research funding
The funding went to a group of four collaborative R&D projects, five scale-up projects to assess automotive businesses for growth, and seven feasibility studies to prepare projects to set up large-scale manufacturing facilities in the UK.
Another £11.3 million were also awarded to 12 UK-based projects funded through the second instalment of the SuRV (Scale-up Readiness Validation) competition and the fourth round of the APC’s Automotive Transformation Fund (ATF) feasibility studies competition.
The UK government writes on its website that the “ATF’s SuRV projects will support scale-up projects to assess if businesses in the UK automotive supply chain are ready for growth and expansion.” These projects include projects such as that being undertaken by Green Lithium, which, for example, plans to build a lithium scale-up plant in Teesside, or Ilika Technologies who are working to accelerate the scale-up of Ilika’s solid state battery technology.
As mentioned above, the funding was awarded through the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK, with the goal to support ambitions of building an end-to-end supply chain for emissions-free vehicles in the UK. £45.2 million of this investment comes from the UK government, with another £42.7 million being contributed by the automotive industry.
In regards to the feasibility studies, the government has specified that they are to produce decision-ready business cases, “in preparation for projects which will develop large-scale manufacturing facilities in the UK”. The projects include Cornish Lithium, who are establishing a lithium processing plant in the UK to produce anode material for batteries, and Aberdeen Minerals Limited to conduct a study of innovative mineral processing routes.
“Together with industry, we’re providing a huge £89 million 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,” said the Minister for Industry and Economic Security Nusrat Ghani, adding: “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.”
For the APC UK, this occasion held special meaning, as Chief Executive Ian Constance explained: “The 23rd round of our collaborative R&D competition 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 that 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.”
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