The Minister of State at both the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, and the Department for Business and Trade, Sarah Jones, opened Cenex Expo with a keynote address that provided long-term clarity to the automotive manufacturing sector.
Minister Jones shared with delegates the government’s “vision for growth,” whilst acknowledging that “market conditions had been tough,” but the government “hasn’t shied away from making the big calls, the big investments needed to shore up this sector over the short term.”
Supporting this pledge, Minister Jones went on to announce a new funding competition for the automotive sector: “Crucially, through our industrial strategy, we want to set you up for success over the long term too.
Through DRIVE35, we are launching a new scale-up initiative to address the so-called valley of death between R&D and industrialisation. The initiative will fast-track new technologies, making our innovation capabilities a commercial reality.”
Ian Constance
The Advanced Propulsion Centre UK’s (APC) Scale-up fund – delivered in collaboration with the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) and Innovate UK- enables the UK to enhance manufacturing competitiveness.
The most significant newcomer to DRIVE35, the zero-emission funding programme it focuses on encouraging external investment to overcome the initial barriers faced by innovative companies.
Using R&D innovation to improve the efficiency, productivity, and cost-competitiveness of manufacturing plants and their supply chains. This competition has a particular focus on producing physical samples, which can be used to validate a pilot production process.
Funded projects support the UK automotive industry by increasing confidence in large-scale manufacturing investments and building electrified supply chains.
Ian Constance, CEO, APC and Zenzic, said: “The launch of the groundbreaking scale-up fund is another vote of confidence for the UK automotive sector. The scale-up fund aims to bring forward innovation to address the challenges businesses face in getting their transformational technology to the market, and this commitment to innovation is exactly what the industry needs.
The APC is committed to sustaining and enhancing the UK’s long-term automotive capabilities and investments through knowledge-sharing, collaboration, and innovation. Focusing on the following three key funding pillars/areas – Innovation, Scale-up, and Transformation.
Innovation is key to helping the UK increase the volume of vehicles made in the UK to over 1.3 million cars and commercial vehicles by 2035. The Scale-up fund will help manufacturers at a crucial point that will really make a difference.”
Further details on the competition, including application dates and how to apply, will be available on the APC website later this month.
