Transport Secretary Philip Hammond announced the successful bids for a share of £24 million to further develop the UK’s low carbon vehicle capability.
The six winning projects – which together with contributions from business will receive total funding of £52m – are part of the latest Technology Strategy Board competition. Projects include the development of new engines for plug-in hybrid versions of Nissan, Lotus and Jaguar Land Rover cars, a lightweight electric bin wagon, development of lightweight materials for vehicle weight reduction, and new technologies using thermal energy to improve vehicle performance.
Transport Secretary Philip Hammond said: “I am determined to make this Government the greenest ever and transport will have a key role to play. But this will not be achieved by forcing people off the road – it’s not the car that’s the problem, it’s the carbon.
"While I am convinced that rail will be the future of long distance inter-urban journeys, we can’t ignore the fact that 84 per cent of journeys are made by car and there is no realistic prospect of displacing the private car for point to point complex journeys.
"However, we are on the brink of a technological revolution that will transform the way we see motoring in the 21st century allowing the benefits that the private car delivers without destroying the planet in the process."
Hammond also released guidance for those cities and councils interested in bidding for the next round of Plugged-in Places grants designed to fund recharging infrastructure for electric cars. Originally launched by the previous Labour government, the new Coalition government decided to continue the project after Milton Keynes, the North East and London were selected as the first places to benefit from funds. Now, the a second round of grants comes available to a further 15 places, with the final funding for the scheme set to be confirmed as part of the Autumn Spending Review (set to be revealed on October 20, 2010.
