Government Ploughs £246m Into UK Battery Tech Development

The government has launched a £246 million fund to boost the development of battery technology in the UK over the next four years.

Dubbed the Faraday Challenge, the fund will cover three areas: research, innovation, and scaling-up the application of new battery technology.

“The work that we do through the Faraday Challenge will – quite literally – power the automotive and energy revolution where, already, the UK is leading the world,” said business secretary Greg Clark, who announced the launch of the Faraday Challenge, which forms part of the government’s wider Industrial Strategy.

Batteries included

The first stage of the Faraday Challenge will see a £45 million ‘Battery Institute’ competition setup to establish a centre of research for battery technology.

Following that, the most promising research completed in the institute will be moved closer to a marketable product through collaborative research and development competitions, spearheaded by Innovate UK, the government’s innovation agency.

Then to take the technology further to market and into real-world use, another competition will be launched with the Advanced Propulsion Centre to identify the best battery technology to be given access to a state-of-the-art National Battery Manufacturing Development facility.

The overall idea behind the Faraday Challenge is to establish the UK as a leader in cutting-edge battery technology.

“By any scale, the Faraday Challenge is a game changing investment in the UK and will make people around the globe take notice of what the UK is doing in terms of battery development for the automotive sector,” said Ruth McKernan, Innovate UK’s chief executive.

“The competitions opening this week present huge opportunities for UK businesses, helping to generate further jobs and growth in the UK’s low carbon economy.”

Alongside the battery tech investment, the business secretary has also launched the third Connected Autonomous Vehicles research and development competition, which will channel £25 million of funding into the development of driverless vehicles.

The government is clearly keen of supporting UK technology development, having recently launched a £700 million fund for technology innovation, AI and robotics development.

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