Theresa May has pledged more than £100m to support the Government’s ‘ambitious mission’ to put the UK at the forefront of the design and manufacturing of zero-emission vehicles.
The £106m package for projects developing innovative green battery, vehicle and refuelling technology was unveiled at the country’s first Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) summit, taking place in Birmingham this week.
The funding will be provided to ‘innovators’ in ultra-low emission vehicles and hydrogen technology – with the aim of ‘driving the design, use, uptake and infrastructure necessary for cleaner, greener vehicles’.
It follows a number of other announcements from the Government, including £2m of funding to support the uptake of e-cargo bikes and plans to equip ‘clean’ vehicles with green number plates.
At the event, the Government will also unveil a new, international declaration that will ‘forge the way for the worldwide deployment of green vehicles, and the introduction of smart, zero-emission infrastructure’.
The first signatories to the ‘Birmingham Declaration’ include Italy, France, Denmark, the United Arab Emirates, Portugal, Belarus and Indonesia, with more nations currently in talks to sign up.
Theresa May said: “I want to see Britain, once again, leading from the front and working with industries and countries around the world to spearhead change.
“That is why I have set this country an ambitious mission. To put the UK at the forefront of the design and manufacturing of zero-emission vehicles, and for all new cars and vans to be, effectively, zero-emission by 2040.
“Already, we are taking significant strides forward. Our electric UK-manufactured cars account for one-in-five sold in Europe. Our batteries are among the best in the world.
“And our Road to Zero Strategy is the most comprehensive plan globally – mapping out, in detail, how we will reach our target for all new cars and vans to be, effectively, zero-emission by 2040 – and for every car and van to be zero-emission by 2050.”
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