The Advanced Propulsion Centre – how to get involved
A webinar took place on 17th December 2014 to explain how organisations can get involved with the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC).
The first way that organisations can get involved is by accessing funding through competitions, such as the one that is currently open, APC 3, ‘Developing new automotive propulsion technologies’. This has up to £100 million of grant funding available for projects that deliver significant reductions in vehicle CO2 or other emissions. The registration deadline is at noon on 7th January 2015 and the application deadline is at noon 14th January 2015.
Applications for competitions such as APC 3 must be from a consortium which includes an OEM or Tier 1 with a clear sight to market, a supplier and an SME. The aim is to develop new supply chains/market opportunities for low carbon propulsion technology, which could be relevant to a range of vehicles including passenger cars, buses, heavy duty or off-highway vehicles. Projects are typically likely to take between 18-42 months to complete.
There is also the Technology Developer Accelerator Programme (TDAP) pilot which has been created by the APC to support small and medium sized technology developers to help take low carbon technology to MRL 4 and TRL 5 application readiness. The technology will be at an early stage of development and the company may not be sure how to move forward with elements such as understanding the viability of the technology, business planning and validating the product or testing.
The application deadline for this programme has now closed, with the APC receiving 22 initial applications, with 10 selected for support. The APC may run other similar programmes in the future.
There may also be special ‘one-off’ competitions in response to particular industry demands.
The APC has a hub at Warwick University, and a number of spokes will be developed throughout the UK. The aim is that these spokes will build on existing centres of excellence for strategic technologies in the UK, with the aim of growing clusters of networks around the spokes. The first spoke to be announced is in London and will be officially opened in 2015.
If your organisation is involved in the development of technology that can help to significantly lower emissions from vehicles then the APC wants to speak to you.