Commercialising Connected and Automated Mobility: Mass transit

Overview

Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation, will work with the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV) to invest up to £41.5 million in innovation projects across two competition strands.

The aim of this competition is to support the CCAV ambition to progress technologies, products and services into commercial offerings.

Scope

In this strand: Commercialising Connected & Automated Mobility: Mass transit, CCAV is seeking proposals where Connected and Automated Mobility (CAM) could deliver a significantly more cost effective, and low carbon solution than traditional public transport options.

Your project must identify a new application for CAM as a mass transit solution on a segregated route and quantify the real-life potential of a suitable solution.

Your proposed automated vehicle services must be on physically segregated infrastructure: routes that are not open to public access: for vehicles, pedestrians, cyclists and other road users. This can include for example, tracks, disused railway routes.

Your proposal must:

consider the utilisation of new CAM technologies for innovative mass transit services on segregated infrastructure, including both new and disused infrastructure, or infrastructure that would otherwise require a significant upgrade
propose the design, delivery, and operational cases for the introduction of a service on a specific, UK route currently underserved by public transport, including how it could be practically delivered and operated as part of an integrated public transport network.
solve real-life transport problems and focus on areas and routes in the UK that are currently underserved by public transport, particularly areas where traditional rail services are not deemed viable
set out why an automated vehicle service would provide better outcomes than traditional mass transit modes, for example, heavy and light rail, tram and bus, including guided busways
consider how a service could be improved or expanded in the future, for example, as technology develops and legislation enables the use of automated vehicles on public roads

Specific Themes

Your project must consider all the following themes:

economic, social, and decarbonisation benefits, considering the Green Book
capital expenditure and operational expenditure
infrastructure and service delivery plan and timelines
commercial viability and revenue protection
passenger capacity and scalability of service
encouraging the use of public transport
integration into existing public transport networks, including active travel, with consideration of connected infrastructure, on demand and Mobility as a Service technologies
connecting underserved routes, locations, or populations to employment centres, education opportunities and larger population centres
ensuring safety and security, including cyber security
use of UK-based automation and infrastructure technologies and expertise
ensuring public trust in the service
ensuring accessibility and inclusivity of the service

Your project can consider the use of CAM:

on new infrastructure
on disused infrastructure or infrastructure that otherwise requires costly upgrades, for example rail lines
in rural, semi-rural or urban environments

Funding Costs

Innovate UK have allocated up to £1.5million to fund innovation projects in this strand. Funding will be in the form of a grant.

You should apply for the minimum amount of funding required to make your project viable.

If the majority of your organisation’s work on the project is commercial or economic, your funding request must not exceed the limits below. These limits apply even if your organisation normally acts non-economically.

For feasibility study projects, you could get funding for your eligible project costs of:

up to 70% if you are a micro or small organisation
up to 60% if you are a medium sized organisation
up to 50% if you are a large organisation

Eligibility

To lead a project your organisation must:

be a UK registered business of any size, research organisation, research technology organisation (RTO) or public sector organisation (local authority or transport authority)
collaborate with 1 other UK registered organisation

Project team

To collaborate with the lead, your organisation must be one of the following UK registered:

Your project must include as a lead or grant claiming partner a:

local or regional authority or a local or regional transport authority
Connected & Automated Mobility (CAM) technology provider or an infrastructure provider

Your project must:

start by 1 January 2023
end by 30 November 2023
carry out all project work in the UK
intend to exploit the results from or in the UK
work with Department for Transport (DfT) and the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV) to ensure compatibility with regulatory requirements

Exclusions

Innovate UK are not funding projects that:

are industrial research or experimental development projects
rely on the use of automated vehicles on public roads
propose the use of automated vehicle technology on rail vehicles
include aircraft or waterborne craft
are dependent on export performance
are dependent on domestic inputs usage

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