A new £1.8m fund to encourage businesses to move beyond manufacturing internal combustion engines to producing low carbon vehicle technologies, helping to stimulate innovative economic growth in Wales, is being established by Ford and the Welsh Government.
The Ford Low Carbon Vehicle Transition Fund, administered by the Welsh Government as part of Ford’s legacy in Wales, will address strategic industrial technical challenges associated with low carbon vehicles.
There will be a clear focus on commercialisation and exploitation of new products, processes or services and growing capacity in low carbon technologies.
Projects must align with one of the following Automotive Council Roadmaps:
- Electrical Energy Storage;
- Electric Machines;
- Power Electronics;
- Fuel Cell;
- Lightweight Vehicle & Powertrain Structure.
The new fund will open for applications on Monday 20th September 2021.
Economy Minister, Vaughan Gething said:
“The Welsh Government has a clear focus on helping create new green jobs in the industries of the future. We want Wales to be a country that’s at the forefront of innovating new technologies that will benefit people in their day-to-day lives.
“Innovation is absolutely key to the Welsh Government’s low carbon delivery plan and in our response to the climate emergency. So the launch of this new fund by Ford and the Welsh Government is a fantastic opportunity for companies across the country to be at the forefront of creating new, innovative low carbon vehicle technologies.”
Businesses in the sector are encouraged to start thinking now about the technical improvements they could make, and how they use the funding to benefit the Welsh economy. It will help them work-up strong applications within the timescales and start a conversation on considering how they might pledge to become a net-zero organisation.
Simon Palmer, Chief Engineer for Vehicle Hardware at the Ford Motor Company added:
“This fund is a great opportunity for businesses to deliver long term benefits to Wales and their future business needs, enabling them to develop new collaborations leading to the creation of new supply chains. We would encourage businesses and researchers to work together on innovative projects in strategically important areas of science, engineering and technology.”
Key Dates:
- 20 September 2021 – Competition opens
- 23 September 2021 – Virtual briefing event
- 28 and 30 September 2021 – On-line Funding Surgery
- 1 November 2021 12pm – Application deadline
