The Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) and Innovate UK is opening up a £24m funding pot for industry-led research trials and the development of low-emission vehicles or on-vehicle systems.
These projects must reduce emissions in the freight, logistics, utilities and emergency industries.
HGVs and vans contribute 31% of the UK’s domestic transport greenhouse gas emissions and the government said better uptake of low-emission vehicles to UK fleets can help the UK meet its CO2 reduction targets, as well as improving air quality.
The funding competition is run in two streams:
- Part 1 will fund projects that trial vehicles and on-vehicle technology. The aim is to test the benefits of the technology before commercialisation
- Part 2 will fund projects that develop innovative and disruptive on-vehicle technologies, systems or business models. These must reduce emissions in the real world.
Businesses can bid for funding now, with the registration deadline on 12 October and application deadline on 19 October.
A briefing event for potential applicants will take place in Solihull on 14 July 2016.
The government said it expects all projects to be collaborative and involve a vehicle operator, with costs ranging from £250,000 up to £5m.
Industry recently heard how the UK's exit from the European Union would not affect its drive towards cleaner technology.
