The UK government has announced that it will invest in British CAM projects via four new funding sources to help develop mobility solutions.
Mobilise, Demonstrate, Enable and Feasibility Studies are the latest funding initiatives unveiled as part of the £150million Connected & Automated Mobility (CAM) Pathfinder programme announced in the UK government’s Industrial Strategy.
From advanced technology to autonomous vehicles, CAM Pathfinder aims to provide funding to projects that are developing world-first mobility technologies, products, and services.
The CAM Pathfinder programme is being delivered on behalf of the UK Government by Innovate UK, and Zenzic.
Details on the three funds were officially unveiled at a CAM Pathfinder launch event at the University of Warwick today [9 Oct], which brought together over 100 experts from across academia, government and industry.
The funds follow the launch of the Enhancements and Feasibility Studies programmes which were launched in July and amount to £18m in funding, bringing the total amount of funding already committed from CAM Pathfinder to £58m.
Rt Hon. Sarah Jones MP, who was minister of state for industry at the Department for Business and Trade when the funds were approved, said: “Industry reports from the SMMT suggest that connected and automated mobility has the potential to generate a staggering £66bn for the UK economy and more than 12,000 jobs in vehicle manufacturing alone.
“We want to help businesses seize that opportunity with both hands and that’s why we introduced the CAM Pathfinder R&D programme over the summer, strengthening a partnership with industry that’s seen hundreds of millions of pounds invested in CAM technologies and services.
“I am really pleased that we can announce the next round of CAM Pathfinder competitions, supporting high potential, innovative projects and the UK’s self-driving ambitions.
“The competitions will open this autumn with funding being made available for the next financial year.
“Here again, this work is backed by significant levels of government investment. More than £36m of new funding will support the development of the UK’s CAM Supply Chain. But when it comes to CAM development, it isn’t just about the money, although it does help.
“It’s about creating the right regulatory environment, too. That’s why my colleague, the Transport Secretary, is accelerating regulations for automated passenger services.
“We want to take a leaf out of California’s book where self-driving Jaguar I-Paces are ferrying people across the streets of San Francisco and Los Angeles. We want to do the same thing in the UK with commercial pilots launching from next spring.”
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