Automotive Transformation Fund Scale up Readiness Validation (SuRV)

The Automotive Transformation Fund is delivered by the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) and partners, Innovate UK, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and Department for International Trade (DIT). It supports the industrialisation at scale of a high-value electrified automotive supply chain in the UK.

APC is seeking proposals from single organisations or consortiums with R&D projects validating readiness for scale up through pilot production, with a maximum grant request of £2 million.

These projects must produce physical production samples, of a quantity and quality which supports the case for the commercial viability of scale up in the UK. It may include samples to validate technical qualification.

The resulting projects must support the UK automotive industry in:

• increasing business confidence in making large scale manufacturing investments
• building electrified vehicle supply chains

Your project must:

• have a total grant request of no more than £2 million, or a maximum of 65% of the project costs
• start by 1 September 2022
• end by 29 February 2024
• carry out all of its project work in the UK
• intend to exploit the results from or in the UK

To lead a project or work alone your organisation must be a UK registered business of any size. Non-UK registered businesses and research organisations are eligible to apply for funding as a lead or part of a project team if they set up an active UK registered business before they start their project and carry out all funded work in the UK. Academic institutions cannot lead or work alone. Any UK-based organisation can collaborate with the lead.

The Automotive Transformation Fund will support the industrialisation at scale of a high value electrified automotive supply chain in the UK. More information on the Automotive Transformation Fund can be found on the APC website.

Scope

This competition is to support companies to scale up rapidly, by validating through pilot manufacturing their commercial viability and readiness to scale.

Your project must:

• produce physical pilot production samples of a quantity and quality which validates the commercial viability of a technology or process for scale up
• prioritise the automotive sector, but this does not exclude spill over use in other sectors
• deliver a closeout report and ideally showcase the outputs at a trade show or be presented at a conference, prior to closure and payment of the final claim

APC will fund a portfolio of projects, across the technologies listed in the specific themes section. APC reserve the right to redirect you to another competition if more appropriate.

SuRV projects can:

• be used to re-engineer existing processes as a route to higher volume
• be used to validate processes to resolve supply chain issues and encourage onshoring or localisation in support of higher volume
• be used to resolve process or product issues encountered during previous industrialisation projects (funded or otherwise)
• support either key individual processes or steps in manufacturing or a complete end to end to process

This is not an exhaustive list.

Your project must prioritise the scale up in areas mentioned in the Automotive Transformation Strategy for an electrified supply chain. Your project must prioritise scale up and can focus on but not be limited to:

• whole battery cells
• anode, cathode, separator, electrolyte and battery input materials
• fuel cells
• electric drive units (EDUs)
• hydrogen storage tanks
• power electronics
• material sourcing for any of the above

Sectors in scope can include on and off road, agriculture, heavy duty, mining and military, at any point in the supply chain. Larger two-wheel applications will be considered, but micromobility applications will not.

Projects must:

• validate readiness for scale up through pilot production
• present a clear route to scale up and securing market share
• contribute to the UK’s net zero supply chain strategy
• increase business confidence in making large scale manufacturing investments
• support the building of electrified vehicle supply chains

An online briefing event will be held at 11:30am on Wednesday 20th April: click here to register for a place.

If you want help to find a project partner, contact Innovate UK KTN’s Transport team.