£91m Green Travel Fund
A new program of £91 million of government and industry funding to develop the latest green travel solutions.
Four projects have been awarded funding through the Advanced Propulsion Centre Collaborative Research and Development competition, which supports the development of new low carbon automotive technology.
The four projects to have received the funding are:
- BMW-UK-BEV
- Project CELERITAS
- BRUNEL project
- REEcorner
Together, the four projects could save almost 32 million tonnes of carbon emissions. This is equal to the lifetime emissions of 1.3 million cars. One of the key aims of these projects is to make electric cars more commercially available, affordable and efficient.
Projects Details
BMW-UK-BEV was awarded £26.2 million to develop an electric battery that will be better than an internal combustion engine.
CELERITAS has also received £9.7 million to create batteries for electric and fuel cell hybrid vehicles that are ultra-fast charging and can charge in as little as 12 minutes.
These projects will help push forward the UK’s development of a sustainable supply chain for manufacturing electric vehicles by 2026.
Currently, with the market being sparse of competitors, there are worries that many won’t be able to afford to convert to EV before the Governments deadline. Excluding Tesla’s Supercharger network, Electric Highway makes up 80% of all motorway service station charging points in the UK.
Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has stated that they are concerned that this could lead to less provision, less choice, and higher prices over the next few years.
Estimates and Recommendations
The RAC estimates that some 239,000 EV’s are already in use. But, there are just 25,000 publicly accessible charging points available, that’s around 34 chargers for every 100,000 people. The CMA estimates that between 280,000 and 480,000 devices will need to be in operation by 2030 to support the growing demand.
The government body has its suggestions for improving the network:
- Charging points should be easy to find
- It should be simple and quick to pay for charging
- Charging costs must be clear
- Every charger should be compatible with every EV
Comment
CMA chief Andrea Coscelli said
“The challenges with creating an entirely new charging network shouldn’t be underestimated. Our recommendations will promote strong competition, encourage more investment, and build people’s trust.”
Ian Constance, CEO at the Advanced Propulsion Centre, said
“These projects tackle some really important challenges in the journey to net-zero road transport. They address range anxiety and cost, which can be a barrier to people making the switch to electric vehicles and they also provide potential solutions to the challenge of how we decarbonize public transport and the movement of goods”.
How can we help?
If your fleet has converted to EV’s, our Shell EV card provides your drivers with access to over 3000 recharging stations. It also allows you to use 3800 conventional fuel stations to purchase Diesel, Petrol, Lubricants, AdBlue, LPG and M6 Toll charges, making it the perfect solution for Hybrid models.
Useful Links
To find out more go to https://www.cambriancards.com/shell-electric-vehicle-card/
The Advanced Propulsion Centre
£91m Green Travel Fund