At the recent Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders’ (SMMT) (www.smmt.co.uk) Annual Dinner, Greg Clark, the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, announced further support for the research and development of low-carbon vehicle technologies in the UK through a grant of £25 million.

He said this would help build the future of two major UK automotive facilities “creating and safeguarding a total of 1,750 UK jobs in the automotive industry”.

Invested through the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC), the funding will enable three R&D projects run by Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), Ford Motor Company and Arcola Energy to “drive forward” the development of innovative low-carbon propulsion technologies and their associated supply chains — including growing the UK’s capability for producing electric drive units, a virtual product development process to support the electrification of future commercial vehicles, and fuel cell electric powertrains for the bus and commercial vehicle sector.

The projects, which are jointly valued at £54 million and include the grant funding through the APC, will save a potential 2.5 million tonnes of CO2 and help address issues with air quality caused by commercial vehicles in urban areas and cities.

JLR’s project brings together a consortium of world-leading academic and industry partners with the aim of developing strategies and capabilities to produce electric drive units alongside internal combustion engines at its manufacturing facilities.

A project led by Ford will work with a consortium to collaborate on the development of digital engineering tools
to “pioneer a new engineering process that enables the next-generation electrified commercial vehicle technologies to be developed and brought to market much faster”.

The project led by Arcola Energy aims to: bring to market complete fuel cell electric powertrains; develop a best-in-class integrated motor drive unit; strengthen UK capability in the supply of battery packs; and demonstrate game-changing hydrogen storage technology on a commercial vehicle.

Since the APC was established in 2013, it has invested in 44 UK-based projects collectively valued at £770 million, including £368 million worth of grants.

All projects have the aim of helping vehicle manufacturers and suppliers to develop innovative low-carbon propulsion technologies.