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9th May 2008

The UK Technology Strategy Board has chosen16 projects to receive £23 million in government investment through the Low Carbon Vehicles Innovation Platform. Including investments by the companies involved, the total value of the development projects will be £52 million.

The sixteen new research, development and demonstration projects represent the first investment by the Low Carbon Vehicles Innovation Platform since it was established last autumn, and follows an open competition launched in September. The government investment is funded in equal parts by the Technology Strategy Board and the Department for Transport.

Thirteen projects were confirmed as of yesterday, 8th May, including:

- Axon 60 - A structural carbon fibre car with plug-in hybrid option. The Axon 60 will use a patented structural carbon beam technology. A plug-in hybrid system will be used to explore the capabilities of PHEVs in light vehicle applications. The vehicle is lightweight (weighing less than 500 kg), has a low drag coefficient and is powered by a 500 cc engine and Infinitely Variable Transmission (IVT).

Lead Organization: Axon Automotive; Consortium members: University of Warwick, Powertrain Technologies Ltd, Scott Bader Company Limited.

- Hybrid electric technology for buses - This project will accelerate the production of a UK hybrid electric drive (HED) bus application and develop a UK centre of excellence for HED application engineering.

Lead Organization: BAE Systems; Consortium members: Alexander Dennis Ltd, University College London.

- Li-ion batteries for plug-in HEVs - This project aims to improve the energy density of the low cost, very safe titanate/manganate Li-ion system by incrementally increasing the capacity of the active electrode materials while preserving their other characteristics.

Lead Organization: FiFe Batteries Limited; Consortium member: ABSL Power Solutions Limited.

- Engine optimization for reduced parasitic losses - This project will investigate the application of various new technologies which seek to lower the losses due to friction within engines, plus other engine- and gearbox-related parasitic losses. The aim is to demonstrate an overall fuel economy improvement and thus CO2 reduction of between 5 and 10% on the European drive cycle.

Lead Organization: Ford Motor Company Ltd; Consortium members: MAHLE Powertrain Ltd, BP.

- Commercial vehicle fuel and carbon reduction by the use of ‘aerospace aero’ devices - This project will develop a device fitted to commercial vehicles to significantly reduce fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. The intention is for the device to build on current systems and technology using developments from the aeronautical industries.

Lead Organization: Hatcher Components Limited; Consortium members: Mercedes-Benz UK Ltd, Cranfield University.

- Zero emission London taxi commercialization - This project will initiate and accelerate the introduction of commercial fleets of zero-emission fuel cell hybrid taxis primarily for London by 2012 and for other cities by 2014. The project will develop and integrate PEM fuel cell hybrid powertrains into LTI TX4 taxis. The arduous duty cycle of the London taxi will be utilized to provide a platform for accelerated fuel cell vehicle lifecycle testing.

Lead Organization: Intelligent Energy; Consortium members: Lotus Cars Ltd, LTI Ltd, TRW Conekt

- Flywheel hybrid system for premium vehicles - This project will design and develop a mechanical hybrid (flywheel and variable drive system), kinetic energy recovery system for use in a premium brand car (Jaguar) as an alternative, cost-competitive solution to other hybrid systems. The project will demonstrate this within an existing vehicle platform to prove its effectiveness and viability for production and suitability for modular application.

Lead Organization: Jaguar Cars Limited; Consortium members: Flybrid Systems, Ford Motor Company Limited, Prodrive, Ricardo UK Ltd, Torotrak plc, Xtrac Ltd.

- Limo-Green -This project will use Jaguar XJs’ aluminium body structures as a basis for proving the concept of a large luxury vehicle with an advanced hybrid electric driveline, consisting of an advanced drive motor, small battery pack and a small auxiliary power generator for sustained cruising. The project aim is to demonstrate a vehicle with sub-120 g/km CO2 emissions while maintaining the premium quality of the vehicle.

Lead Organization: Jaguar Cars Ltd.; Consortium members: MIRA Ltd, Lotus Engineering, Caparo Vehicle Technologies.

- Lower cost lightweight vehicles increasing the ise of post consumer aluminium scrap - This project will demonstrate the feasibility of manufacture within five years of a mass-producible lightweight car based on a body in white (BIW) structure built using aluminium sheet derived in part from low cost energy efficient recycled post-consumer scrap. The sheet manufacture will be based on continuous casting and melt conditioning technologies using sheet cast from melts containing up to 75% of recycled material.

Lead Organization: JLR; Consortium members: Novelis Inc, Zyomax, Norton Aluminium, Innoval Technology, Brunel University, Stadco Ltd.

- Range extended electric vehicle (REHEV) - This project will develop a modular electric and electric/diesel powertrain, suitable for several different vehicle types. This will be tested on a large premium SUV (Land Rover) platform delivering 120 to 130 g/km and zero emissions range of at least 12 miles. The project will also investigate range extension and plug-in charging and installation/ commissioning of local recharging facilities for vehicle trials within the E.ON fleet.

Lead Organization: Land Rover; Consortium members: Amberjac Projects Ltd, Ricardo UK Ltd, E.ON UK PLC.

- High torque density electric drive for commercial vehicles (HiTED) - This project will develop a novel brushless permanent magnet electrical machine incorporating integral magnetic gearing for traction use with hybrid trucks, buses and construction vehicles. The recently invented pseudo-direct-drive (PDD) has the highest torque density of any known electrical machine, according to the team, and has improved energy efficiency, requires only natural air cooling, and is more compact with low manufacturing cost. The project will provide and evaluate two demonstrators.

Lead Organization: Magnomatics Limited; Consortium members: Kollmorgen Corporation, Magnet Applications Ltd, Volvo Group.

- 2/4CAR 2/4-stroke switching carbon reduction vehicle - This project will deliver a Jaguar car demonstrating a 25-30% reduction in CO2 emissions with no loss of performance using an innovative, highly-downsized petrol engine with two-stroke/four-stroke switching technology. Laboratory work has shown that torque output more typical of an engine of twice the capacity is achievable. The engine design incorporates a cycle-switching valvetrain, an advanced boosting and control system, and will demonstrate powertrain integration and driveable control strategies.

Lead Organization: Ricardo UK Ltd; Consortium members University of Brighton, DENSO Sales UK Ltd, Jaguar Cars Ltd.

- DESERVE (Develop high energy battery + high power supercaps for all-electric range – This project will integrate high energy Zebra batteries and high power supercapacitors in a 3.5-tonne electric delivery van. The project will look to maximize the respective energy and power capabilities of the two systems. A power electronic interface controller to optimize the performance of the combined storage system will also be developed. The project will also integrate the storage system within the vehicle and optimize vehicle performance. The targets are a range of 150 miles, top speed 60 mph, acceleration to 59 mph in 18 seconds.

Lead Organization: Tanfield Group plc; Consortium members: Beta Research and Development Ltd, The University of Manchester, Energy Technology Services.

The Technology Strategy Board says a further three projects will be confirmed shortly. It also announced its intention yesterday to launch a Low Carbon Vehicles Integrated Delivery Programme this autumn, stimulated by a further £70 million of government investment. This programme will co-ordinate low carbon vehicle activity from initial research through to future procurement opportunities, speeding up the time it takes to bring low carbon vehicle technologies to market.