DfT unveils £11m funding for carbon-cutting research

The government has committed £11 million of funding to research carbon-cutting technology which will power the vehicles of tomorrow.

The money will be spent on research and development that will reduce emissions from driving.

Plug-in cars and other ultra low emission vehicles (ULEVs) are already widely available, with sales gathering pace, and the government is funding further research to support the growth of this important sector and cement the UK’s position as a world leader in the development of the technology behind the vehicles.

Early in the year the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg outlined how £500m would be used to promote ULEVs in the UK to create jobs and drive economic growth, while making the national fleet cleaner and greener. This included £100m for industry-led research and development.

Now the government is putting £11m of this funding into a competition that is being run by Innovate UK – the Technology Strategy Board. Innovate UK’s adapting cutting-edge technologies competition opened recently and industry had already been invited to bid for a share of the funding available to deliver its aims. The additional funding from government takes the total available to up to £15m.

Transport Minister Baroness Kramer said: “This new £11m for R&D shows our support to UK companies leading the way to cleaner and greener transport technologies. They are investing in more efficient transport, and that is the best way to drive our economy forward.”

“By 2040 we expect virtually all new cars and vans to be using carbon-cutting technology and we want to see as much of this as possible designed and built here, in the UK, delivering economic as well as environmental benefits.

“We are already a world leader in this field and we must invest more resources to maintain our edge.”