Shaping the future of the automotive industry

Up to £75 million will be available to fund projects for the new Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC).

The competition will be run by the UK’s innovation agency, the Technology Strategy Board. The Government and automotive industry are investing £500 million each over the next 10 years in the APC to research, develop and commercialise technologies for the vehicles of the future. Its creation was announced in the Industrial Strategy for the UK’s automotive sector in July.

Business Secretary Vince Cable said:
“By 2050, very few - if any - new cars will be powered solely by the traditional internal combustion engines so it is important that the UK car industry is at the cutting edge of low carbon technologies. The Advanced Propulsion Centre, launched as part of our Industrial Strategy, will help to position the UK as a leading innovator while also securing jobs and strengthening supply chains.”

Participants from across the supply chain, including vehicle manufacturers and SMEs, will bid for support in collaborative Research Development (CRD) projects. These business-led projects will strengthen UK capability and develop the country’s supply chain in the field of low carbon vehicles. The projects will be expected to deliver significant reductions in vehicle CO2 emissions compared to current best-in-class technologies.

Iain Gray, Chief Executive of the Technology Strategy Board, said:
“The automotive industry is a UK success story. To maintain our leading role in low carbon powertrain development, we need to promote further innovation across the supply chain. This competition will help us do just that.”

Through this competition, the Technology Strategy Board will ensure that the APC has a series of projects already in the pipeline when it begins work. The projects are expected to commence from April 2014. In this way, the UK’s innovation agency will be at the heart of delivering a key part of the Government’s industrial strategy for the automotive sector.