Midlands Automotive Projects Receive Multi-million Pound Investment

Britain’s automotive industry is set to benefit from a £73.5 million government investment to develop green technologies and safeguard jobs.

Ten projects across the UK will receive a share of this new investment to develop cutting-edge technology for the next generation of electric taxis, cars and vans – including recyclable batteries, advanced electrical systems and ultra-lightweight components.

The funding boost will aid the development of highly efficient and ultra-lightweight components and help drive the automotive industry further away from its reliance on fossil fuel technologies.

The successful projects were chosen by the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC), which seeks to maintain the UK’s position as a centre of excellence for the research and development of low carbon vehicle technology.

Five of the ten projects are based in the Midlands:

• LEVC – Electric Vehicle Evolution (Coventry). The London Electric Vehicle will develop a new battery designed specifically for its vehicles for higher performance and also to be reused and recycled
• Ford Technologies Ltd – eSHADOW (Warwick). This project will determine the technical, financial and environmental challenges of using advanced, lightweight materials in vehicle manufacturing
• Jaguar Land Rover – Hi-VIBES (Coventry). A consortium of academics and industry will create a new electronic system that will be easier to build, as well as being lighter and cheaper
• BMW (Motorsport) Ltd – FutureBEV (Warwick & Newport). This project aims to deliver better powertrains that are more cost-efficient
• Jaguar Land Rover – ZEUS (Coventry). This project will develop a high-performance four-wheel drive 400kW Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV)