The UK government has announced 12 winning projects to receive £22m in grants, including a project to develop ultra-fast charging electric car batteries.
The funding is being offered under the UK’s Faraday Battery Challenge, which is seeking to develop ultra-fast charging electric car batteries to support the country’s wider transition towards electric vehicles.
Fast charging could address a number of infrastructure concerns which have somewhat prevented uptake of electric vehicles in the UK, and the fund seeks to support solutions in demonstrating at a commercial scale, developed through collaboration between world-leading research and business stakeholders.
What projects have been funded?
The most recent ultra-fast charging electric car batteries initiative to receive funding is the PowerDrive Line project, which is based in Southampton, UK. Materials company Ilika is focused on solid state battery cell development, and trying to demonstrate at commercial scale ultra-fast charging technology which could bring a vehicle to full charge in under 25 minutes.
Among the other projects to receive funding are a battery recycling scheme to develop the first UK industrial scale capability to reclaim and reuse essential metals from batteries; and a project led by a consortium headed by McLaren Automotive to accelerate the development of electrified powertrains.
What has the UK government said?
The chief executive of UK Research and Innovation, Professor Sir Mark Walport, said that the development of new battery technologies is a key element of the overall transition towards more sustainable modes of transport, and that supporting innovation in this area was a vital responsibility of the government.
He explained: “Effective, efficient and sustainable transport is key to addressing so many of today’s challenges from industrial growth to social inclusion. Through advanced battery technology, we will unlock a new generation of electric vehicles, further improving vehicle performance and uptake, opening doors to innovative new transport ideas and significantly reducing environmental impacts. Today’s investment shows we are catalysing collaboration between research teams and commercial partners across the UK to make this a reality.”
