The new plan for green auto tech

On August 18th, the UK government announced £91.7m funding for low carbon auto tech including hydrogen engines and ultra-fast charging batteries. The initiative will focus on electric vehicle (EV) batteries with a range similar to internal combustion engines and which can charge in as little as 12 minutes are among projects awarded.

The announcement follows the government’s plan to end of the sale of new petrol and diesel cars in the country by 2030. This plan will allow the UK to become the fastest major economy to decarbonise cars and vans, saving nearly 32 million tonnes of carbon emissions.

The big four projects awarded are:

• BMW-UK-BEV, Oxford – £26.2 million to develop an electric battery that will rival the driving range of internal combustion engines, helping put concerns over how far electric vehicles can travel to rest
• Project CELERITAS, Birmingham – £9.7 million to create ultra-fast charging batteries for electric and fuel cell hybrid vehicles that can charge in as little as 12 minutes
• the BRUNEL project, Darlington – £14.6 million to develop a novel zero emission, hydrogen-fuelled engine to help decarbonise heavy goods vehicles
• REEcorner, Nuneaton – £41.2 million to radically redesign light and medium-sized commercial electric vehicles in Nuneaton by moving the steering, breaking, suspension and powertrain into the wheel arch enabling increased autonomous capability, storage space and design flexibility

The funding for this project is not only good for the environment, but the automotive sector. Covid really hit the sector as a whole.

What the automotive sector needed was a spur in activity, both public and private, to get back on its feet. This initiative will innovate more technology, and the plan to secure over 2,700 jobs across the country. All while benefiting the environment, too.

These great initiatives aside, carbon is not just produced in powering vehicles it is used in development, production and maintenance.  At Polestar we are looking at a number of technology deals in automotive where simulation and driver controls will ultimately lead to carbon reduction beyond energy usage and indeed lower materials usage.  All areas where we in the UK are world leaders.