UK government, alongside automotive manufacturers Ford, Cummins, GKN and JCB will invest £133 million in powertrain development projects to improve fuel efficiency and reduce carbon emissions.
The investment, part of government and industry’s £1 billion Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC), will be announced by Business Secretary, Vince Cable on a visit to Ford’s Dunton facility today.
Vince Cable said, “The next generation of cars, buses and diggers will be powered by radically different technologies and I want them to be developed here in Britain.
“Over the last few decades the British car industry has been transformed and today a new vehicle rolls off a UK production line every 20 seconds.
“To capitalise on the success of our motor industry these projects will be the first of many to receive funding from the new £1 billion Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) which we set up to turn technologies into products. The government’s industrial strategy is giving business the confidence to invest, securing high-skilled, long-term jobs and a creating a stronger economy.”
The APC aims to transform the UK into a propulsion nation, working as a hub of excellence for advanced powertrain technologies. The initiative has the potential to secure up to 30,000 jobs currently linked to producing engines, while creating many more in the automotive supply chain.
Projects to win government funding in the first APC competition includes Ford’s £100 million upgrade the world-renowned EcoBoost engine, which will receive a £13.1 million grant.
Cummins, along with a consortium of partners, will receive £4.9 million towards a £9.9 million project to introduce stop/start engine technology to buses, improving fuel consumption by up to 20%.
GKN Land Systems and its partners are set to receive £7.5 million as part of a £16 million project to introduce Williams F1 technology into bus powertrains to avoid energy wastage.
JCB and its partner, Flybrid, will also be awarded a £3.3 million grant as part of a £7.3 million project to apply Formula 1 KERS technology in diggers; cutting carbon emissions and improving fuel consumption.
More information about the Advanced Propulsion Centre can be found on theAutomotive Council website.
