In a bid to ‘strengthen its position as a global leader in zero-emission vehicle tech’, the UK government, supported by the automotive industry, has announced £89 in funding for 20 unique net-zero projects. 

The 20 projects were selected through four different competitions which together represent a range of initiatives in key areas such as hydrogen-powered off road vehicles, lithium scale-up plants, and EV battery systems. 

“From net zero tractors to cutting-edge battery projects, we’re taking decisive action to back the UK’s innovators and ensure we remain at the forefront of zero emission vehicle technology,” said the minister for industry and economic security Nusrat Ghani.

According to the government, funding from just one of the four competitions alone could create or safeguard over 4,700 UK jobs and save up to 65 million tonnes of CO2 emissions over the next decade. 

This comes on the backdrop of the government’s zero emission vehicle mandate, which is an ambitious regulatory framework which requires 80% of new cars and 70% of new vans sold in the UK to be zero emission by 2030, jumping to 100% in 2035. 

The funding is administered through the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK (APC). Of the £89m, £45.2m is coming from the government, while the rest (£42.7m) comes from the automotive industry. 

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On top of the £89m, another £11.3 has been awarded to 12 UK-based projects through the  SuRV (Scale-up Readiness Validation) competition as well as the APC’s Automotive Transformation Fund feasibility studies competition. 

Speaking about the funding rounds, APC chief executive Ian Constance said: “We have seen over £1.4 billion of investment into automotive projects since the APC was set up, and I am proud of the impact that we have made here in the UK.”

“This latest announcement includes a diverse set of OEMs and suppliers that demonstrate the strength of UK automotive. They will further add to our portfolio of innovative projects and continue to drive the UK to deliver on its net zero ambition.”