Coventry's Advanced Propulsion Centre secures £54 million for hydrogen power

Innovative green projects creating the next generation of electric trucks and hydrogen-powered buses have secured more than £54 million in government funding.

The funding is being coordinated by the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) in Coventry which supports the development of low carbon emission technologies for cars, buses, heavy goods vehicles, and vans. These projects will help further the UK’s ongoing efforts to develop a sustainable supply chain for manufacturing electric vehicles by 2026.

The 3 projects in Cwmbran, Warwickshire and Ballymena, Ireland 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 are:

• £11.3 million to develop and manufacture energy-saving technology from motorsport for use in cars and vans from Shield Manufacturing Technologies in Warwickshire. The e-MOTIF (e-axle with MOT or Inverter and Flywheel). Weight saving and reducing energy consumption are key to winning in motor racing. The e-MOTIF project led by Shield Manufacturing Technologies in Warwickshire combines lightweight energy recovery technology from motorsport with a new motor and inverter for cars and vans to cut energy consumption and CO2 emissions. The e-MOTIF project is scalable and cost effective for global manufacturers and will lead to three new manufacturing centres opening across the UK.

Managing Director of the Shield Group, Chris Shield, said: "Shield Manufacturing Technologies is delighted to be working with APCand our partners to accelerate the development and production readiness of cutting-edge engineered technologies. The evolving market opportunity for this family of power-dense electric drive modules will generate significant numbers of skilled roles with associated investment across Shield’s facilities in the Midlands and opportunities for the region’s supplier base."

• £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
• £11.2 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

CEO at the Advanced Propulsion Centre Ian Constance said: "From fuel cell technology for buses, designed and built in Ballymena, a lightweight electric powertrain for commercial vehicles developed and manufactured in Wales and an integrated motor and energy recovery systems system for cars and vans based on motorsport technology in Warwickshire, today’s announcement secures and creates nearly 10,000 jobs and will cut CO2 emissions equivalent to removing the lifetime emissions of nearly 1.8 million cars.

"By investing in new, greener technology for the UK automotive sector, funding of this kind will help realise the government’s ambition for the UK to end its contribution to climate change by 2050."

The Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) collaborates with UK government, the automotive industry and academia to accelerate the industrialisation of technologies, supporting the transition to deliver net-zero emission vehicles.

Since its foundation in 2013, APC has funded 150 low-carbon projects involving 375 partners, working with companies of all sizes, and has helped to create or safeguard over 50,000 jobs in the UK. The technologies developed in these projects are projected to save over 260 million tonnes of CO2, the equivalent of removing the lifetime emissions from 10.2 million cars.