£62m funding secures 2,370 jobs

The Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) has awarded £62m funding for projects to develop innovative low carbon technology in the UK.

The projects are being led by BMW, Ford, Jaguar Land Rover, New Holland Agriculture, Penso Consulting, Westfield Sportscars and Williams Advanced Engineering.

The seven collaborative R&D projects are forecast to create or safeguard 2,370 UK jobs and keep the APC ahead of its target to save 50 million tonnes by 2023.

Projects cover a wide range of innovations, which will help the UK to become a global leader in low emissions technology.

BMW will collaborate with Delta Motorsport and WMG at University of Warwick to design, develop and produce power dense batteries in the UK, one of the missing links in the global roadmap for the widespread adoption of all kinds of electric vehicles.

Ford and its partners will work on a project to develop combined system optimisation which will then be available for wider dissemination within the industry.

New Holland Agriculture, a brand of CNH Industrial, will bring together a consortium to improve the performance, autonomy and efficiency of the brand’s concept natural gas tractor. This will aim to significantly reduce the carbon footprint of agricultural tractors used on farms and within the wider community.

Jaguar Land Rover is leading a consortium of UK advanced manufacturers, technology companies and universities to develop world-beating new lightweight vehicle technology, designed to enable reduced emissions while maintaining the performance of exciting new cars and SUVs in the future.

Penso Consulting Ltd will lead a project to anchor complex composite structure manufacturing capability in the UK, forecast to create or safeguard more than 1,250 jobs.

Westfield Sportscars Limited will lead a consortium that will deliver an affordable, compact, hybrid powertrain for niche vehicle applications, which will be engineered and produced in the UK and exported through the company’s global retail network.

Williams Advanced Engineering Limited and partners will develop bespoke, high performance, cost competitive batteries for high performance low to medium volume applications. This project will focus on design for manufacture, recycling and reuse and making significant CO2 savings.

Ian Constance, chief executive of the APC, said, ‘The sixth round of APC funding demonstrates the depth of low carbon development that is in the UK. From powertrain, to lightweighting, to energy storage, these new projects will not only lower emissions but secure thousands of jobs, address supply chain gaps, and help the UK become a true global leader in advanced vehicle technology.’