A range of projects are set to benefit after the UK government announced £77 million in new funding for projects developing clean transport technologies.

The schemes, which range from work on battery-powered buses, to a hydrogen-powered version of the iconic Ford Transit van, will support more than 4,400 jobs across the UK over the next decade.

Joint government and industry funding winners include:

• Ford Motor Company Ltd:£16.3 million awarded to design and develop a hydrogen fuel cell-powered version of the Ford Transit van, which will initially be produced at Ford Dagenham.
• Cavendish – BorgWarner: awarded £9.8 million for work to speed up the rollout of hydrogen-burning internal combustion engines, as an alternative to diesel, for use in heavy-duty settings.
• Zetta – Leyland Trucks Ltd:£5.1 million investment. By better use of automation and advanced testing, Leyland Trucks aims to increase productivity and step up its production of battery electric trucks.
• Hyer Power – Ulemco Ltd:£7.9 million backing to develop a hydrogen fuel cell range extender for electric vehicles used for specialised purposes, such as ambulances, fire engines and street sweepers.
• Nextgenzebs – Wrightbus:£12.7 million backing for new, market-leading technology to underpin battery and fuel cell electric buses.

The funding has been awarded through the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) Collaborative Research and Development programme.

A total of £38.4 million of this investment comes from the UK government, backed by a further £38.7 million from the automobile industry.

Industry and Economic Security Minister Nusrat Ghani said, “Our automotive industry keeps setting the pace globally and seizing the potential of new technologies. Today’s multi-million-pound boost will help them stay ahead of international competition, while delivering on our priority to grow the economy and support high-quality jobs.”