The UK government has issued £23m (€25.89m) in funding to electric vehicle (EV) battery innovators as part of its Faraday Battery Challenge.
The Faraday Battery Challenge, which operates under the UK Industrial Strategy’s Future of Mobility Grand Challenge, aims to promote innovation in the British electric mobility sector by incentivising developments in battery technology. UK Research and Innovation Chief Executive Professor Sir Mark Walport said: “The Faraday Battery Challenge brings together the UK’s world class expertise across research and industry to deliver battery technologies that will power the vehicles of the future. The projects announced today emphasise how this collective expertise is being brought to bear on the biggest challenges facing the development of next-generation electric car batteries, from their power source and performance to safety and manufacturing.”
Recipients of funding under the Faraday Battery Challenge include:
- Wardell Armstrong, a mining consultancy business, which is leading a new study aimed at developing a sustainable supply of lithium in the UK;
- A project spearheaded by Jaguar Land Rover, which aims to optimise battery performance while maintaining stringent safety standards; and
- A study overseen by materials technology firm Granta Design, examining the potential uses of Artificial Intelligence in manufacturing electric vehicle batteries.
Business and Energy Secretary Greg Clark said: “We are committed to ensuring our world leading automotive sector can flourish. These exciting new projects will build on the UK’s reputation for excellence, our rich heritage in the auto industry and pave the way for advances towards a cleaner economy. We will continue to invest in future car manufacturing, batteries and electrification infrastructure through our modern Industrial Strategy and today’s winners will be crucial in ensuring that the UK leads the world in the global transition to a low carbon economy – one of the greatest industrial opportunities of our time.”
Tony Harper, Director of the Faraday Battery Challenge, said: “Across the three rounds of funding competitions we have now awarded a total of £82.6 million to 63 projects. This is a massive investment in business-led battery research and development in the UK, supporting innovative technologies and helping to build a UK supply chain that can compete on the global stage.”
