IDP14: accelerating the transition to zero emission vehicles (feasibility studies)

The Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) and Innovate UK, via the Faraday Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund, is to invest up to £2 million in this competition. This is to enable industry-led research into vehicle technologies that accelerates the transition to zero emission vehicles.

This competition is for feasibility studies only.

The parties are particularly looking for projects to develop low-cost, highly integrated systems to enable zero emission journeys for cars. They’re are also looking for zero emission or zero emission capable journeys for medium and heavy goods vehicles. Your project should focus on identified technical or commercial challenges developing zero and zero emission capable technologies on vehicles, from motorbikes to large trucks.

For the first time in an IDP competition a proportion of the budget will focus on medium and heavy goods vehicles.

The government’s ambition is that nearly all cars and vans on our roads are zero emission by 2050. IDP14 supports the acceleration towards zero emission vehicles through technology development, particularly projects which can reduce system costs significantly.

Zero emission or zero emission capable means zero exhaust pipe emissions, or the capability to travel a set minimum distance with zero exhaust pipe emissions. Projects that address well to wheel (life cycle analysis) savings for HGVs will also be in scope.

The competition is looking to fund projects that address the following technical areas:

• electric machines and power electronics
• energy storage and energy management
  lightweight vehicle and powertrain structures
• highly disruptive zero emission technologies
• propulsion for zero emission medium and heavy goods vehicles

Technologies in scope include:

• the electrification of conventional powertrains in passenger cars, such as waste heat recovery systems and hybridisation
• e-powertrains solutions where the project does not include costs related to any conventional engine research and development (R&D) work
• zero emission technologies that are focused on exploitation routes on conventional powered vehicles, such as light weighting projects

Projects that focus on deploying their technologies on zero emission vehicles are particularly encouraged.

For Medium and heavy goods vehicles (vehicles over 7.5 tonnes), click here. 

Eligibility

To lead a project you must:

• be a UK based business
• be a business of any size
• carry out your project in the UK
• work in collaboration with others (businesses, research base and third sector)

Projects should last up to 12 months. 

All projects must be a collaboration between at least 2 partners. A business must lead the project.

Funding and project details

• There is up to £2 million to fund innovation projects for feasibility studies in this competition.
• Projects should focus on accelerating the transition to zero emission technologies for cars.
• The competition also wants a  focus on zero emission or zero emission capable technologies for medium and heavy goods vehicles.

Total eligible costs are up to £250,000 per feasibility study project.

Project types

Your project can focus on technical feasibility, industrial research or experimental development. This will depend on the challenge.

For feasibility studies you could get up to 70% of your eligible project costs if you are an SME.