The Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) has announced that almost £92 million combined government and industry funding has been committed to four innovative projects, aiming to tackle range anxiety and find solutions to decarbonise commercial and heavy-duty transport.
Together the four projects are estimated to prevent nearly 32 million tonnes of CO2, which is equivalent to the lifetime tailpipe emissions of 1.3 million cars and will help safeguard or create over 2,700 jobs.
“These projects tackle some really important challenges in the journey to net-zero road transport,” Ian Constance, chief executive at the APC said. “By investing in this innovation we are taking these technologies closer to the point where they are commercially viable, which will strengthen the UK’s automotive supply chain, safeguard or create jobs and reduce harmful greenhouse emissions.”
£41.2 million of joint industry and government funding will be guided into a project led by REE at their Engineering Centre of Excellence at the MIRA technology park in Nuneaton to develop and manufacture their REEcorner technology which packs critical vehicle components (including steering, braking, suspension, powertrain and control) into a single compact module located between the chassis and the wheel, enabling fully-flat EV platforms to meet the growing needs for efficient commercial electric vehicles. £26.2 million of the funding has been committed to a project led by BMW Group to develop an electric battery in Oxford that will rival the range of internal combustion engines. £14.6 million will be guided into a project led by Cummins to develop a novel zero carbon, hydrogen-fuelled engine in Darlington, to help decarbonise heavy-duty commercial transport and the final £9.7 million will be committed into a project led by Sprint Power in Birmingham to create ultra-fast charging batteries for electric and fuel cell hybrid vehicles that can charge in as little as 12 minutes.
“Confirmation of the strategic support awarded by APC is excellent news for our world-class research and development facility in Darlington,” Jonathan Atkinson, executive director of Cummins On-highway Business in Europe, said. “This project will significantly accelerate the pace of hydrogen engine development, ensuring that the UK is in the vanguard of this exciting new technology which will play a significant part in decarbonising the global commercial vehicle fleet.
