APC in Pole Position at the Low Carbon Racing Conference

NEC, Birmingham, 7 January 2015: The Advanced Propulsion Centre is today meeting with the motorsport industry to continue the rapid transfer of innovative racing technology into low carbon propulsion products developed in the UK.

Two of the current projects funded by the APC use innovative systems developed on the racetrack and the organisation is actively seeking more opportunities to invest in other technologies that can transfer to automotive products on and off road.

APC and partner projects committed so far worth £180 million will safeguard 2,500 jobs and reduce CO2 emissions equivalent to the output of 250,000 cars per year over the next decade*. Up to £100 million is now available during 2015.

Speaking at the Low Carbon Racing Conference at the NEC in Birmingham, Chief Executive Tony Pixton said:

The Advanced Propulsion Centre has already successfully enabled the transfer of low carbon propulsion technology from the racetrack into mainstream automotive production and we’re looking to build this portfolio. The UK is a global leader in motorsport and the APC wants to engage with any company that is developing great prototype low carbon propulsion technology for racing and we can help to bring it to new markets, developed in Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The APC helps forge partnerships between those who have good ideas and those who can bring them to market. The services provided by the APC enable projects which provide profitable growth and sustainable opportunities for the partners involved and contribute to the UK’s economic prosperity.

* The CO2 savings achieved as a result of the projects committed by the APC is calculated by government economists at 5 million tonnes over a period of 12 years. Assuming an average CO2 emission of 128.3g/km for a passenger car**, averaging 13,196 km (8,200 miles) *** per year this equates to 1.69 tonnes of CO2 per year per car. Total CO2 savings of 5 million tonnes during a 12 year period averages out at the equivalent of the impact of 246,548 vehicles per year during this time.

** SMMT New Car CO2 report 2014.   *** DfT National Travel Survey published July 2013.