ATF: moving the UK automotive sector to zero emissions

UK registered organisations can apply for a share of up to £7m for economic or technical feasibility studies to support scale up of the UK’s high-value electrified automotive supply chain.

Opportunity Details

When

Registration Opens

07/12/2020

Registration Closes

27/01/2021

Award

Your project’s total eligible project costs can be up to £1 million. Up to 70% of your costs can be covered by the grant, depending on business size.

Organisation

Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC)

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The Automotive Transformation Fund, delivered by the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) and partners, Innovate UK, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and Department for International Trade (DIT), will support the industrialisation at scale of a high-value electrified automotive supply chain in the UK. APC is seeking proposals from single organisations or consortiums for feasibility studies up to the value of £1 million.

APC is looking for projects that are one of the following:

  1. Economic feasibility studies focusing on economic feasibility of developing large-scale manufacturing facilities in the UK – projects up to 6 months long
  2. Technical feasibility studies focusing on the technical feasibility of developing advanced manufacturing processes or scaling up product manufacturing – up to 12 months long

Projects must support the UK automotive industry in:

  • making it easier for investment to happen in large scale manufacturing
  • building electrified vehicle supply chains

Your project must:

  • have total eligible costs up to £1 million
  • start on or after the 1 April 2021
  • be either an economic or technical feasibility studies project

If your project’s total eligible costs or duration fall outside of the above criteria, you must contact the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) directly on +44(0)24 7652 8700 at least 10 days before the competition closes. APC will decide whether to approve your request.

The Automotive Transformation Fund will support the industrialisation at scale of a high-value electrified automotive supply chain in the UK. More information on Automotive Transformation Fund can be found on the APC website.

The aim of this competition is to support commercially led research and development in the design of elements of the electric automotive supply chain.

Projects must:

  • support the UK’s long-term growth aspirations for the supply chain and associated capabilities of the automotive market
  • support the overall aim of the Automotive Transformation Fund to establish a competitive and sustainable UK supply chain

Your project must also fulfil at least one of these requirements:

  1. De-risk scaling up innovative technologies across the electric supply chain.
  2. Remove the technical or commercial barriers to manufacture in the UK.

Your project must prioritise the automotive sector, but this does not exclude subsequent secondary use in other sectors.

At the end of the feasibility study, your project must meet one of the following:

  • be ready to continue in future research and development or capital competitions
  • able to raise private sector investment to take the project outcome to market

Your project can address technological improvements or developing new business models. APC encourages projects that bring new investment into the sector in the UK.

APC want to fund a portfolio of projects, across the technologies listed in the specific themes section.

Specific themes

You can either focus on one or more of the products below or on the materials and components that go into the product:

  • batteries
  • motors and drives
  • power electronics
  • fuel cell
  • recycling of any of the above
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