£38M fund will use F1 technology to design greener cars

An innovative research project has won a share of a £38.2M government prize which will use F1 technology to design greener cars.

Formula 1 (F1) technology could soon be used for family cars, after an innovative research project won a share of a government prize announced in the Budget. The project is one of more than 130 car manufacturers, technology companies and research centres across the country to have won a share of the money, which will create hi-tech jobs and allow Britain to export state of the art, emission-cutting technology.

Jaguar Land Rover and Nissan has received £1.7M for “light weighting” technology, which applies the science behind F1 cars and space satellites to make passenger cars weigh less. The weight of steel components in vehicles such as the Nissan Leaf, could be reduced by half, potentially extending the distance a plug-in car can drive by 25%.

Transport Minister Andrew Jones said: “Our £38M investment will help Britain become a world leader in this exciting and valuable technology sector, creating skilled jobs of the future as part of our long-term economic plan. It will also mean lower running costs for motorists and less fuel consumption, which is good for the environment and our economy.

“This competition continues our £600M commitment by 2020 to support the uptake of ultra-low emission vehicles, making journeys cheaper and greener, ensuring the nation is fit for the future.”

The funding combines £30M from the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) with £8.2 million of additional funding from Innovate UK, who will support the schemes.

A total of £7.6M has been split between 36 organisations across the west midlands, including £1.7M for a consortium led by Jaguar Land Rover and Nissan, to develop ways of manufacturing composite materials making vehicles lighter and more energy efficient.

Sheffield-based Faradion Ltd lead a consortium receiving £1.3M to significantly reduce the cost of electric vehicle batteries by using cheaper sodium-ion technology, while a collaboration between Magnomatics Ltd and the University of Sheffield will develop a more efficient transmission system using magnets.

The south-east have received £5.6M across 20 organisions. Ceres Power Ltd in Horsham lead a team receiving £770,000 to test new fuel cells extending the range of electric vans.

The east-midlands have £7.5M across 23 organisatons, with one consortia led by Far-UK in Nottingham has been awarded £1.4M to work on the replacement on steel bodies with lighter materials, while maintaining the highest safety standards.

In Scotland, £2.5M has been split across 7 organisations, with Sunamp Ltd near Edinburgh leading a team to transform chilled or frozen food fleets using ‘thermal store’ technology to minimise battery power used up to keep food deliveries fresh.

A total of £1.7M has gone into the North-west across 7 organisations including Clean Air Power Ltd in Lancashire who will seek to apply greener dual-fuel technology to HGVs, cutting emissions on freight deliveries.

Over 15 organisations in the East of England, £2.9M has been awarded to develop a low-cost hybrid system suitable for capturing braking energy and providing an extra boost to smaller city cars.

Greater London will receive £2.2M across 11 organisations to develop thermal recovery kits that capture waste heat from the exhaust and turn it into electricity.

The South-west received £3.1M across 16 organisations, with projects to develop new lighter vehicle components made from advanced aluminium alloys.

The North-east received £570,000 across 5 organisations including the light weighing collaboration with Jaguar Land Rover.

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