£2.5m awarded to accelerate over a dozen automotive SMEs, startups and spinouts

14 SMEs specialising in clean, green technology have won a share of over £2.5m in government grant funding through the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) Technology Developer Accelerator Programme (TDAP).

The 14 “innovative” businesses will each receive £170k in funding support through the TDAP Programme, which supports ambitious SMEs, startups, and spinouts, who have an early-stage transport technology concept and want to accelerate their route to market of their next-generation technology.

Along with the funding, they will receive expert business support and mentoring through a comprehensive 17-month programme where they will develop their business acumen to accelerate their innovation to commercialisation.

The seventh cohort of TDAP projects includes an ‘intelligent forecast engine’ for upcoming EV charging demand, lithium-ion and lithium-sulphur battery technologies, software, and intelligence platforms to improve supply chain sustainability and EV charger operational efficiencies through to fully integrated electric hub drivelines for off-highway vehicles.

Josh Denne, APC’s head of SME programmes, said: “There is a global race to decarbonise transport, and as the UK’s ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel engines grows closer, the APC are on a mission to accelerate high-ambition, high-potential UK-based startups and SMEs with great tech concepts that could help reduce harmful greenhouse emissions from road transport.

“This latest cohort of our accelerator programme is once again a celebration of UK start-up and SME-led innovation and demonstrates how the drive within our ecosystem to develop new net-zero technology businesses is not slowing. Supported by our expert industry panel, the APC has selected these 14 companies from a highly competitive round of applications.

“We have attracted a fascinating range of tech businesses to this round of TDAP. Alongside some fantastic hardware-based concepts, we are seeing a growth in software-based innovation that can drive carbon and cost out of vehicle development and manufacturing.

“As our ecosystem shifts its focus towards net zero, we are seeing new process technologies which could help drive emissions out of the supply chain for clean mobility technologies. The team at the APC are excited to work with these 14 companies over the coming months to enable them to forge their routes ahead and accelerate their progress.”

The TDAP programme which recently reported that businesses from the fifth funding cohort of cutting-edge technology developers raised an extra £27m of investment into 11 exciting small businesses, in just 17 months, is more than grant funding, the programme also includes access to a bespoke package of support.

By Matthew Neville – Senior Correspondent, Bdaily

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