Multimillion-pound investment for UK electric vehicle manufacturing    

• Nissan, YASA, JLR, and EMPEL lead projects receiving Collaborative Research & Development (CR&D) grants
• Over 1,200 UK jobs created or safeguarded
• UK-built technology will save millions of tonnes of CO₂
• Plus, new extreme temperature-resilient battery technology ready for scale-up

04 March 2024 – The Advanced Propulsion Centre UK (APC), announces the latest round of government and industry funding for zero tailpipe emission vehicle technology.

The new collaborative projects announced today bring together companies making key zero-emission technology, including power electronics and electric drive units.

APC Chief Executive Officer Ian Constance said:

“We’re committed to building the electric vehicle supply chain in the UK. By investing in the capability and expertise in this country we will grow businesses and take decisive action towards creating zero tailpipe emission technology. Our latest R&D funding does just that.”

Benefiting from this multimillion-pound investment through the latest APC Collaborative Research and Development competition round are projects led by:

Nissan Technical Centre Europe, utilising an electric vehicle programme to build UK R&D capability while collaborating with UK partners on further enhancing EV 4R (refabricate, recycle, resell, and reuse) potential.

YASA, developing a dual inverter for regenerative braking in BEVs, enabling new vehicle designs with EV specific, optimised electronics and safety systems.

EMPEL Systems, developing a UK-designed and sourced innovative silicon carbide power module for use in high efficiency automotive inverters and DC-DC converters.

JLR, developing a next generation EDU ‘toolkit’; a modular family of electric machines, inverters and transmissions for future vehicle platforms.

Total project cost across these four initiatives is £71.5 million.

This includes a £35.7 million government grant through the Department for Business and Trade, combined with industry match-funding.

It’s estimated that that the projects will create or safeguard more than 1,200 jobs in total. Crucially, over 2 million tonnes of CO₂ are projected to be saved over the next decade as a result of products being developed.

The project led by Nissan Technical Centre Europe based in Cranfield, Bedfordshire, comes following a series of announcements last year by Nissan to expand its UK facilities.

Electric motor designers YASA and EMPEL Systems are both developing innovative power electronics that will drive efficiency in EVs of the future, a relatively unexplored area of opportunity for the UK automotive industry.

Similarly, JLR’s investment in its electric vehicle production capacity has led to significant progress towards launching new models on the market and demand for locally-sourced batteries. The new project connects several academic partners with industry suppliers to develop the next generation of electric powertrains.

Announcing the investment from the Department for Business and Trade, Minister for Industry and Economic Security Nusrat Ghani said:

“This is great news for our automotive sector. £72 million of funding will help reinforce the UK as a world leader in zero emissions vehicle technology and further cementing our place as the second largest automotive manufacturer in Europe.

In addition, a new successful applicant of the APC’s Scale-up Readiness Validation (SuRV) competition, funded with a £1.08 million grant through the Government’s Automotive Transformation Fund, was revealed today.

HiCAM, high-performance lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathode active material, will aim to demonstrate if new state-of-the-art battery technology can be scaled for commercialisation.

Developed by Integrals Power, it involves high performance and low-cost LFP battery material, tested and evaluated by Cranfield University. The advanced material is capable of improved discharge rates and can retain up to 3 times more capacity in extreme temperatures.

About the new Advanced Propulsion Centre UK Collaborative Research and Development projects

EV development & advancement of EV battery reuse, recycling & energy balancing technology.

• Led by Nissan Technical Centre Europe
• £30.12 million total project cost, including a grant of £15.06 million

Utilising an electric vehicle programme to build UK R&D capability while collaborating with UK partners on further enhancing EV 4R (refabricate, recycle, resell, and reuse) potential.

Re-Gen

• Led by YASA
• £14.02 million total project cost, including a grant of £7.02 million

Developing a dual inverter for regenerative braking in BEVs, enabling new vehicle designs with EV specific, optimised electronics and safety systems.

Project SCION - Silicon Carbide Inverter with Optimised Nano-modules.

• Led by EMPEL Systems
• £7.46 million total project cost, including a grant of £3.73 million.

Developing a UK-designed and sourced innovative silicon carbide power module for use in high efficiency automotive inverters and DC-DC converters.

ExCEED – Excellence in Conceptual Evolution of Electric Drives.

• Led by JLR
• £19.89 million total project cost, including a grant of £9.94 million

Developing a next generation EDU ‘toolkit’; a modular family of machines, inverters and transmissions for future vehicle platforms.