North East businesses secure more than £6.4m to develop new electric vehicle tech
Three North East businesses have been given a slice of an £89m package to ramp up development of new electric vehicle technology. Newton Aycliffe based Gestamp has secured the lion’s share of the regional funding, having been given £6.4m as part of the package, which has been awarded through the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK (APC), in support of ambitions to build an end-to-end supply chain for zero emission vehicles. The overall package included £45.2m from Government, backed by a further £42.7n from the automotive industry. As well as helping the UK to lead the way on net zero tech, the package aims to creating new skilled jobs and help to grow the economy. Gestamp’s Autotech Engineering R&D UK is focussing on how to reduce and eventually eliminate greenhouse gas emissions in vehicle design and production. Meanwhile, Teesside’s Green Lithium Refining and Sunderland’s Advanced Electric Machines also receive undisclosed funding to support the scale-up of projects to assess if automotive supply chain companies are ready for growth and expansion. Green Lithium plans to build a lithium scale-up plant in Teesside, which will produce enough refined lithium to feed into the production of over 1 million electric vehicles. Gestamp’s ERGO-R project will look at a vehicle’s lifetime to create a true circular economy for the automotive industry and reduce waste. Meanwhile Advanced Electric Machines’ Project Simple also aims to establish an efficient, scalable UK-based manufacturing process for sustainably produced traction motor systems in electric vehicles. Dr James Widmer, CEO and co-founder of Advanced Electric Machines, said: “This funding has the potential to transform the UK’s supply chain by laying the foundations for a significant scale up of sustainable motor manufacturing. The output of this project will help to create skilled jobs in the North East and facilitate further innovation in the UK. We’re delighted that the Advanced Propulsion Centre shares our vision for an environmentally conscious electrification journey, as we seek to help the industry to maximise the sustainability of electric vehicles.” APC chief executive Ian Constance said: “This latest round of funding coincides with the APC’s 10th anniversary. We have seen over £1.4bn 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.” £11.3m has also been awarded to 12 UK-based projects, with two from the North East, 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. The ATF’s Scale-up Readiness Validation (SuRV) projects will support scale-up projects to assess if businesses in the UK automotive supply chain are ready for growth and expansion. Minister for Industry and Economic Security Nusrat Ghani said: “Together with industry, we’re providing a huge £89 million of funding to drive 20 groundbreaking net zero tech projects which will help grow the economy and create UK jobs in the industries of the future. 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.”
Publish Date : 2023-10-10 12:35:36
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