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Advanced Propulsion Centre
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) is a non-profit organisation that facilitates funding to UK-based research and development projects developing net-zero emission technologies.[1] It is headquartered at the University of Warwick in Coventry, England.
 | The relevance of particular information in (or previously in) this article or section is disputed. (July 2018) |
The APC manages a £1 billion investment fund, which is jointly supplied by the automotive industry – via the Automotive Council – and the UK government through the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) and managed by Innovate UK.
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History
The APC was founded in 2013 as a joint venture between the automotive industry and UK government to "research, develop and commercialise technologies for vehicles of the future". Both government and the automotive industry committed to investing £500 million each, totalling £1 billion over a ten year period.[2] The creation of the APC was part of the coalition government's automotive industrial strategy.[3]
In January 2014, Gerhard Schmidt was appointed as Chair and Tony Pixton as Chief Executive.[4] It announced its first round of funding in April 2014, awarding £28.8 million funding to projects worth £133 million, led by Cummins, Ford, GKN and JCB.[5]
The Advanced Propulsion Centre was officially opened by Vince Cable in November 2014.[6]
Ian Constance was appointed Chief Executive in September 2015.[7] In the 2015 Autumn Statement, the Chancellor, George Osborne, announced that an additional £225 million budget for automotive research and development would be facilitated by the APC.[8]
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Funding competitions
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The Advanced Propulsion Centre awards funding to consortia of organizations including vehicle manufacturers, tier 1 automotive suppliers, SMEs and academic institutions, which are developing low carbon powertrain technology.
The APC has several kinds of funding mechanisms available:[9]
- Advanced Route to Market Demonstrator (ARMD)
- Automotive Transformation Fund
- Collaborative R&D Competitions
- Production Readiness Competition
- Technology Demonstrator Accelerator Programme (TDAP)
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Spokes
The Advanced Propulsion Centre operates a 'hub and spoke' model, where the 'hub' is its headquarters at the University of Warwick, and the 'spokes' are universities across the UK with specialisms in particular areas of net-zero emission vehicle technology.
Spoke locations:[25]
- Newcastle University - Newcastle upon Tyne, England – Electric Machines
- University of Nottingham – Nottingham, England – Power Electronics
- University of Warwick – Coventry, England – Electrical Energy Storage
- University of Bath – Bath, England – TPS System Efficiency
- Loughborough University – London, England – Institute of Digital Engineering
- University of Brighton – Brighton, England – TPS Thermal Efficiency
Activities
In April 2018, APC announced that an APC-funded project has enabled Ford to develop new low emissions technology, which will go into production on its 1.0-litre EcoBoost engine.[26]
In February 2018, Nissan completed an APC-funded project with Hyperdrive, the Newcastle University, Warwick Manufacturing Group and Zero Carbon futures, to develop a new production process for its 40kWh battery cells. The cells are produced in Sunderland, England, and are fitted to the Nissan Leaf.[27]
In January 2018, Yasa, an electric motor manufacturer based in Oxford, England, opened a new factory to produce 100,000 motors per year, using APC funding. The facility created 150 jobs, with 80% of production expected to be exported.[28]
In September 2017, the Metropolitan Police trialled a fleet of hydrogen-powered Suzuki Burgman scooters, which were developed as part of an APC-funded project.[29]
In January 2017, an APC grant allowed Ford to begin a 12-month pilot of its Transit Custom Plug-in Hybrid in London, England.[30]
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See also
References
External links
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