£29 million investment in fast-start demonstrators

Date: 09 April 2026

The Advanced Propulsion Centre UK (APC) has announced that eighteen companies will share over £29.1 million of investment for fast-start projects aimed at rapidly developing automotive products with a clear route to market. 

This includes £14.3 million of grant support from the Department for Business and Trade’s DRIVE35 Demonstrate programme, delivered through the APC, and matched by industry funding. 

The projects have up to 12 months to demonstrate a product, system, or vehicle.  

These include the development of a lightweight, long-range electric car, a sampling plant for recycling end-of-life batteries, and a sustainable cockpit structure. 

 

The projects and companies involved are: 

Activate 

Domin  

Demonstrating a lightweight, energy-efficient active suspension enabling scalable solutions for future net-zero electric vehicles. 

 

Waste Graphite Recovery & Regeneration  

Orbia Fluor & Energy Materials, Iconichem Widnes, Centre for Process Innovation  

Pioneering advanced recovery of waste graphite, transforming battery scrap into high-value materials, driving UK sustainability and supply resilience. 

 

Altilium EV Battery 

Altilium Metals, JLR, WMG University of Warwick 

Demonstrating EV battery cells produced with cathode and anode materials recovered from EV battery waste. 

 

ASSSB-MSM 

TaiSan Motors, Centre for Process Innovation 

TaiSan and CPI are developing the UK’s first automated solid-state sodium battery process, enabling safer, rapid, scalable next-generation manufacturing. 

 

Small Scale Sampling Lab 

CellMine, Centre for Process Innovation, Minviro 

Developing a sampling plant in to demonstrate its innovative, sulphate-free process for recycling end-of-life batteries. 

 

Cummins IMMERSE 

Cummins  

Project IMMERSE develops advanced immersion-cooled battery modules for zero-emission trucks, delivering safer, faster-charging, and longer-lasting performance. 

 

DriveSense 

Cummins Generator Technology, Transense Technologies 

DriveSense develops and demonstrates sensor-enabled electric motors and power electronics for efficient, zero-emission heavy-duty vehicles, enhancing UK manufacturing. 

 

E-Axle 

Electrified Automation  

A compact and highly efficient electric axle for off-highway and last mile delivery vehicles. 

 

eSWITCH 

RAM Innovations, Octavo Design 

e-SWITCH demonstrates compact solid-state power distribution, replacing contactors and fuses with embedded-die SiC modules for faster, reliable electric vehicles systems. 

 

ENHANCE-FLUOR-BAT 

FluoRok 

Developing competitive, sustainable, and safe UK manufacturing for lithium-ion battery electrolytes salts, strengthening local supply chains and reducing carbon emissions. 

 

ZEPTA 

Innervated Vehicle Engineering, Grayson Thermal Systems 

ZEPTA demonstrates a sustainable transformation of commercial transport by repowering a Diesel 18Tonne to a Hydrogen Fuel Cell Powertrain vehicle. 

 

Mirror 2.0 

SMR Automotive Mirrors, Cranfield University, Q5D Technologies 

Developing and showcasing a next-generation rear-view mirror system using plastic reflector technology, supported by advanced automated manufacturing. 

 

RADICAL 

Jaguar Land Rover, Impact Recycling, Sanko Gosei UK, University of Warwick 

Integration of functionality into an interior structure through innovative joining, demonstrating circularity and reductions in mass, cost and disassembly time. 

 

Re-Power 

Kleanbus, Alexander Dennis 

Developing modular electric powertrains to repower existing diesel buses into zero-emission vehicles. 

 

SafeBMS 

Breathe Battery Technologies, Potenza Technology 

Breathe Battery Technologies and Potenza Technology are delivering real-time on-vehicle battery diagnostics to enhance EV safety, reliability and performance. 

 

SPARKLE 

Vector Photonics, Cummins 

SPARKLE will demonstrate laser ignition for hydrogen engines using novel PCSEL lasers. 

 

VOLANTE 

HiSpeed, Electrogenic 

Delivering an agile electric drive unit, integrating HiSpeed’s CSCW motor and next-generation inverter within Electrogenic’s advanced powertrain platform. 

 

ZELLOR 

Riversimple Movement, Greenflux Motors, PI Engineering Consultancy, The Thinking Pod Innovations 

Demonstrating a zero-emission vehicle at half the weight of other 400-mile range ZEV. 

To learn more about the fund and express an interest in applying for future rounds of funding, click here.