Scope

This competition is designed to support collaborative R&D projects focused on designing, developing, and manufacturing technologies. These projects aim to facilitate the UK’s transition to zero-emission vehicles and advance the net-zero goals of the automotive industry.

Project Requirements:

Your project must:

• Align with the UK’s strategic goals for zero-emission transport, such as those outlined in the Automotive Council’s Roadmaps.
• Focus on on-vehicle technologies or related manufacturing processes that contribute to the net-zero automotive industry.
• Strengthen and secure the UK’s automotive supply chain, improving its capabilities, productivity, efficiency, and global competitiveness.
• Demonstrate potential for commercialisation after project completion.

Focus Areas:

Your project must advance technologies in at least one of the following areas:

• Energy Storage: Batteries, components, management, and integration systems.
• Fuel Cells: Systems and supporting components.
• Electric Machines: Driveline and associated systems.
• Power Electronics.
• Internal Combustion Engines (ICE):
  • On-road applications: Must achieve zero harmful tailpipe emissions using non-fossil fuels.
  • Off-road applications: Must support the transition to zero emissions using non-fossil fuels.
• Lightweight Materials: Methods and processes.
• Hydrogen Systems: Storage and management systems.

Your project can also:

• Focus on circular economy principles, including the disassembly, recovery, and reuse of materials.
• Include physical, digital, or hybrid solutions that contribute to the development, testing, and validation of zero-emission vehicle systems, sub-systems, or manufacturing innovations.

Economic Benefits:

Your project’s economic impact will be assessed on factors such as:

• Scale and contribution to the UK economy.
• Attracting and anchoring foreign investment in the UK.
• Jobs created or safeguarded.
• Workforce upskilling or reskilling.
• Strengthening the UK automotive supply chain across all stages.
• Lifetime environmental benefits and integration of circular economy principles.

Evidence and Outcomes:

Your proposal must provide:

• A clear, evidence-based route to market, including intellectual property (IP) generation for the UK.
• A credible consortium-led project structure with agreements ready to formalise.
• An outline of what would occur if funding is not received.
• Demonstration of outcomes from all project partners within the project timeline, with costs claimed before project completion.

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