Government unveils £100 million UK programme for greener vehicles
Greenwise Staff
28th October 2008
The Department for Transport (DfT) has announced a £100 million public-private fund to speed up the introduction of low carbon vehicles onto Britain’s roads.
Motor manufacturers will get a slice of the fund, which will also invest in UK research into improving technology of green cars.
Announcing the measures, Transport Secretary Geoff Hoon, said: “Electric cars and other low carbon vehicles, like plug-in hybrids, cut fuel costs and reduce harmful emissions. If we can inspire more people to use them, it will help us to make a positive impact on climate change.”
The UK’s Technology Strategy Board will manage and invest in the five-year programme, which is expected to create up to 10,000 new jobs. Other backers of the fund include the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, the DfT, and regional development agencies Advantage West Midlands and One North East.
The programme is targeting motor manufacturers, which are being invited to bid for the opportunity to participate in a £10 million project to run electric car and ultra-low carbon vehicle demonstration projects. As part of the scheme, the public in towns and cities up and down the country will have the opportunity to test 100 electric cars by the end of 2009.
At the same time, up to £20 million is being dedicated to UK research into improving technology that could make electric and other green cars more practical and affordable. This follows new research that confirms that, if correctly managed, the UK power system could support widespread use of electric cars and their charging needs without requiring large numbers of new power stations.
Secretary of State for Business, Lord Mandelson, said: “Investment in greener motoring forms part of our plan to put the UK at the forefront of the new low carbon revolution. We know our automotive sector has a global reputation for taking forward new technology and we want the UK to be at the heart of new developments in electric vehicles.”
Lord Drayson, Minister of State for Science and Innovation, added that the Government-funded Technology Strategy Board, would provide a second R&D fund of up to £30 million for wider collaborative projects covering all vehicle technologies capable of delivering large-scale carbon reductions in the coming decades.
A further R&D fund will target university-led research on lower carbon vehicle technology.
“This investment will accelerate the development of these vehicles and bring benefits to UK businesses and, ultimately, help to meet the UK's emissions targets,” said Lord Drayson.
Meanwhile, in a move that targets the mass production of green vans for the first time, the DfT has also announced a £20 million programme that will see 10 motor manufacturers bidding to provide electric and low carbon vans to some local authorities and other public sector bodies, such as the Royal Mail.
“Vans make up around 15 per cent of road transport emissions in the UK, and their emissions are rising more than any other mode of road transport,” said Hoon. “That's why we are committed to this new programme to help kick-start the market.”
The motor companies are Ford; Mercedes Benz; Citroen; Ashwoods; Land Rover, Modec; Smiths; Electric Vehicles; LDV; Nissan and Allied Vehicles.
The green transport measures are part of wider Government plans to support a low carbon economy. It estimates this emerging sector could create around a million green jobs by 2030.