The 3 projects in Cwmbran, Warwickshire and Ballymena will receive more than £54 million of funding from UK government and industry and are forecast to secure nearly 10,000 jobs across the UK. They could also save 45 million tonnes of carbon emissions, equal to the total amount of emissions produced by 1.8 million cars over their lifetimes.
Investment in new technologies, including hydrogen fuel cells, will help cement the UK’s position as a global leader in automotive technology and support the country to build back better and greener from the pandemic by helping to meet the UK’s climate goals.
The 3 projects being funded today are:
- £31.9 million to develop electric propulsion systems for heavy goods vehicles in Cwmbran, Wales. This technology could be applied in a range of ways, such as giving lorries greater travel range and better energy efficiency for coaches and construction vehicles
- £11.3 million to develop and manufacture energy-saving technology from motorsport for use in cars and vans from a centre in Warwickshire
- £11.2 million to develop and manufacture low-cost hydrogen fuel cell technology for buses and create a hydrogen centre of excellence with Wrightbus in Ballymena, Northern Ireland
The funding announcement builds on the recent launch of the government’s national Bus Back Better strategy and the Prime Minister’s 10 Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution, both of which aim to accelerate the shift to zero emission vehicles and decarbonise the UK’s transport networks.
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