£6.4m for Gestamp, Green Lithium and Advanced Electric Machines
Three winners committed to eliminating greenhouse gas emissions, building a lithium scale-up plant and producing sustainable traction motor systems have won a share of £89m in funding to develop cutting-edge new electric vehicle technologies.
The funding was awarded by the Advanced Propulsion Center UK (APC) to support ambitions to build an end-to-end supply chain for zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) in the UK. £45.2 million of this investment will come from the government, with a further £42.7 million coming from the automotive industry.
Nusrat Ghani, Minister for Industry and Economic Security, said: “Together with industry, we are providing a huge £89 million in funding to advance 20 ground-breaking net zero technology projects that will help boost the economy and bring British jobs to life the industries of the future.” .
“From net-zero tractors to cutting-edge battery projects, we are taking decisive action to support the UK’s innovators and ensure we remain at the forefront of zero-emission vehicle technology.”
From luxury cars to work excavators, the latest joint research and development support from the APC – worth over £67 million – four projects will accelerate the development of zero-emission technology in the UK, securing and creating jobs and supporting investment in cutting-edge research and development .
One of the winners, the Newton Aycvliffe-based ERGO-R project, led by Gestamps Autotech Engineering R&D UK, is focused on identifying how to reduce and ultimately eliminate greenhouse gas emissions from vehicle design and production.
The project will address the lifespan of a vehicle to create a truly circular economy for the automotive industry, reducing waste and ensuring optimized reuse across multiple lifetimes to support a NetZero future.
It is estimated that these four R&D projects alone will create or support a total of more than 4,700 jobs and the work of these four R&D projects alone will save nearly 65 million tons of CO2 emissions over the next decade.
Ian Constance, CEO of APC, said: “This latest round of funding coincides with the APC’s 10th anniversary. Since the APC was founded, we have invested over £1.4 billion in automotive projects and I am proud of the impact we have made here in the UK.
“This latest announcement includes a wide range of OEMs and suppliers, demonstrating the strength of the UK automotive industry. They will further complement our portfolio of innovative projects and continue to drive the UK towards its net zero target.”
Additionally, £11.3 million was awarded to twelve UK-based projects, including two from the North East, through the second tranche of the SuRV (Scale-up Readiness Validation) competition and the fourth round of the APC’s Automotive Transformation Fund (ATF). were financed. Feasibility study competition.
The ATF’s Scale-up Readiness Validation (SuRV) projects will support scale-up projects to assess whether companies in the UK automotive supply chain are ready for growth and expansion.
Green Lithium plans to build a lithium scale-up plant in Teesside. The facility will support the commissioning and training of a skilled workforce for the full-scale Teesside facility, which will produce enough refined lithium to enable the downstream production of more than one million electric vehicles.
The Sunderland-based SIMPLE project also aims to establish an efficient, scalable manufacturing process for sustainably produced traction motor systems in electric passenger cars in the UK.
Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said: “After receiving £978 million for transport projects just last week, this investment is further support of our plan to ensure our region is a leading player in the development of new transport technologies.”
“These innovative industries will create the high-skilled, well-paying jobs of the future while creating a sustainable future for transportation around the world.”
Dr. James Widmer, CEO and co-founder of Advanced Electric Machines, said: “This funding has the potential to transform the UK supply chain by laying the foundation for a significant expansion of sustainable engine manufacturing.” The results of this project will help to create skilled jobs in the North East and facilitate further innovation in the UK. We are pleased that the Advanced Propulsion Center shares our vision of a green electrification journey as we aim to help the industry maximize the sustainability of electric vehicles.”
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The support provided by the APC will mobilize further private investment and support the Government’s ambitions to build an end-to-end supply chain for zero-emission vehicles in the UK.
The announcement comes in addition to funding provided by the Government through the ATF to develop a high-quality, end-to-end electrified automotive supply chain in the UK.
This includes unlocking private investment in gigafactories, supply chains for battery materials, engines, power electronics and fuel cell systems. The ATF is provided by the Ministry of Economy and Trade in collaboration with the APC.
