Five Cambridge firms benefit as government contributes £88m to EV net zero goals

Dozens of cutting-edge, green vehicle technology projects, including ultra-lightweight vehicles, zero emission buses and new battery technology, are set to benefit from £88million of joint funding to take the UK a step closer to net zero.

Described by Minister for Industry and Decarbonisation Sarah Jones as “an important vote of confidence in the UK’s automotive industry”, the £88m has been awarded to 46 innovative projects, including the development of electric trucks for the NHS and Royal Mail, e-motorcycles and wireless charging solutions.

Included in the funding – though details of specific grants were not available at the time of going to press – are Cambridge companies DeepForm, Molyon, FLIT, Talga and Nyobolt.

This funding is “an important vote of confidence in the UK’s automotive industry, creating thousands of green, skilled jobs up and down the country as the government continues to deliver its mission to get Britain moving and grow the economy for all”, the Department for Business and Trade said.

Minister for Industry and Decarbonisation Sarah Jones said: “Labour is committed to boosting the jewel in the crown of our manufacturing base – the automotive industry. Working in partnership with industry, this fund will drive innovation and propel the development of next-generation zero emission vehicle technologies.

“From Royal Mail trucks delivering our post, to cleaner, greener bus journeys, this funding will back projects that will lower emissions across the country, while also supporting skilled jobs.”

The five Cambridge companies represent a spread of activities:

- DeepForm is a University of Cambridge spinout introducing a novel, patented sheet metal pressing technology that can significantly reduce the high levels of waste in automotive pressings, reducing cost and CO2 emissions

- Molyon is developing its patented cathode solution which enables next-generation high energy density batteries

- FLIT develops lightweight folding e-bikes for urban commuters

- Talga is a battery anode and advanced materials company accelerating the global transition towards sustainable growth

- Nyobolt’s ultra-fast-charging battery technology is capable of reducing vehicle charging from hours to minutes.

DeepForm CEO Chris Cleaver said: “We’re really pleased to be getting this support. We’ve got ambitious plans to accelerate our impact – designing automotive pressings with up to 40 per cent less input material.”

Alex Murray, managing director at FLIT, said: “We founded FLIT to make folding e-bikes that people can use to get around their city in a way that’s fun, fast, and efficient.

“It’s great to be backed by the government’s Technology Developer Accelerator Programme (TDAP).

“They are going to help us to not only continue building exciting new folding e-bikes, but also to keep those e-bikes on the road for as long as possible by making them easy to refurbish.

“This will help to both reduce the resources used to build new e-bikes and also to make e-bikes more accessible by making high-quality second-hand e-bikes available to riders.”

- Cambridge ‘a hotspot for new automotive era’ - Cambridge Tech Week report.