The government will provide £125 million, which will be
supported by industry co-investment of up to £175
million to support exciting new technologies including
flying urban taxis, electric passenger planes and even
freight-carrying drones.
It comes as Prime Minister heads to the G7
Summit in Biarritz to urge greater action to tackle
climate change and protect the environment for future
generations.
Alongside this, five new transport research networks
will receive a £5 million cash injection for their work
developing cleaner forms of fuel and other tech
innovations to reduce emissions and improve air
quality.
The new transport research networks will be led by: the
University of Birmingham, the University of Leeds, the
University of Durham, Cardiff University and University
College London.
Prime Minister said:
From our shopping choices to planning our holidays,
we rightly want to make decisions that protect the
planet.
This £300 million investment will help speed up the
development of greener flights, and new ways of
delivering the goods we order online.
The UK is already recognised around the world as a
centre for green tech. Now we will lengthen our lead,
supporting our industry and our citizens to reduce
their carbon footprint.
Business Secretary said:
The possibilities for new ways to transport goods and
services - or to get from A to B - are endless.
This investment will help make the most of the
exceptional talent and expertise we have in these
industries, and ensure the U.K. leads the way
internationally in designing and developing
technology, from electric taxis to drones delivering
parcels.
Transport Secretary said:
New technologies like electric and autonomous
aircraft can help us tackle climate change, making
journeys greener and working better for passengers.
This funding will support the extraordinary talents
of UK industry and academia, and demonstrate our
country’s position as a world-leading transport
innovator.
The Future of Flight Challenge is delivered by UK
Research and Innovation. Industry will initially focus
on smaller aircraft and drones to ensure the
suitability of the new technologies before developing
them for larger passenger aircraft.
The additional £5 million of funding has been awarded
by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research
Council (EPSRC).
Notes to editors
- The first Future Flight Challenge competition, to
create compelling concept studies will open on 30
September 2019.
- There will be a briefing about the competition by
video conference on the morning of 5 September; details
of how to register for this will be released on
the Innovate UK
site soon.
