£100m for UK EV scale up projects
The UK government is backing over 35 projects across four competitions include developers of revolutionary new offroad vehicles, net zero tractors and groundbreaking new EV battery systems.
£89 million of funding has been awarded to 20 EV scale up projects including hydrogen-powered offroad vehicles, a new lithium scale-up plant and new EV battery systems.
The funding has been awarded through the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK (APC) with £45.2m from the government and a further £42.7 million from the automotive industry.
£11.3 million has also been awarded to 12 UK-based projects funded through the second instalment of the SuRV (Scale-up Readiness Validation) competition and the fourth round of the APC’s Automotive Transformation Fund (ATF) feasibility studies competition.
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Projects include Green Lithium who plan to build a lithium scale-up plant in Teesside, and Ilika Technologies who are working to accelerate the scale-up of Ilika’s solid state battery technology.
The ATF Feasibility Studies will produce decision-ready business cases, in preparation for projects which will develop large-scale manufacturing facilities in the UK.
The seven projects include Cornish Lithium, who are establishing a lithium processing plant in the UK to produce anode material for EV batteries, and Aberdeen Minerals Limited for the study of innovative mineral processing routes.
The APC projects include a consortium led by Yasa for a combined electric propulsion and handling system which aims to revolutionise existing EV architecture standards and improve performance. Ther is also Gestamp’s Autotech Engineering R&D UK leading a consortium on a project to create new design methodologies, processes, and materials for reduced embodied carbon footprint in product designs.
UK engine maker Perkins, a subsidiary of Caterpillar, will develop a net-zero, hydrogen-hybrid, integrated power system for off-highway vehicles.
As well as the EV scale up projects, £1.1 million in grant funding has been awarded to four projects in the Niche Vehicle Network (NVN) Production Readiness Competition. These include a zero emission Ariel Nomad – a low volume performance offroad vehicle – featuring a highly optimised EV powertrain, and also a UK-made electric scooter from Swifty Scooters, which is optimised for improved rider safety and ensures a long product lifespan.
The Automotive Transformation Fund Feasibility Study projects (FS4) projects include Gaussion for a Magneto-enhancement technology for solid-state batteries and Talga Anode UK assessing the feasibility of production of anode materials from recycled graphite and a graphite-silicon composite anode material using in-situ silicates from Talga’s Swedish graphite ore.
Strip Tinning: This project will study the feasibility of investing in very high-volume manufacturing of their Cell Contacting and Management System. The CCMS is a safety-critical component of the power electronics system of Battery Electric Vehicles.
Greenroc Mining is establishing a graphite processing plant in the UK to produce anode material for EV batteries from graphite concentrate from the Amitsoq Graphite Project in southern Greenland.
Ariel Electric with partners Rockfort Engineering and BAMD is developing a zero emission Nomad, ZELV3, featuring a highly optimised EV powertrain and a lightweight aerodynamic body that improves vehicle efficiency.
Maeving with project partners Alexander Technologies and Muon Tech for a higher energy density, removable battery system, with improved thermal performance, for lightweight electric motorcycle. The project will move their battery production from a Far Eastern to a UK based supplier, supporting their ambition to make Britain a leading manufacturer of electric motorcycles.
CALLUM with partners Nyobolt and Codem is developing a lightweight, rapid-charge, electric all-terrain vehicle (ATV), which will better the performance attributes of ICE ATVs that currently dominate the market.
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