Advanced Propulsion Center UK (APC) highlights the details of advances in CleanPlus technology and updates to its automotive technology roadmap that will guide the transition to zero-emission vehicles.
Over the past decade, clean-pullus technology has been rapidly advancing, driven by a combination of innovation and pending policies and laws. With so much going on in the UK and around the world, it’s hard to look at the big picture and really understand where we are collectively as an industry.
For more than a decade, APC, on behalf of Automotive Council UK, has developed and updated a set of automotive technology roadmap that is consistent with the strategic technology of the automotive sector, identifying key trends and drivers, assessing cutting edges, and looking forward to what could move ahead in the industry.
The concept of low-carbon vehicles was still gaining traction at the time. The Paris Agreement, signed in 2015 at the United Nations Climate Change Conference, is more widely known and has since evolved into a broader zero debate.
However, within the automotive industry, it was clear that travel from fossil-powered internal combustion engines (ICEs) would need to become mainstream to reduce carbon emissions and meet future requirements to tackle climate change.
Since these initial roadmaps, APC has continued to play an integral role in subsequent updates, and in September this year we were proud to begin our next iteration, the 2024 Auto Council Roadmap refresh.
These roadmaps are particularly important for the sector as they are developed through industry consensus processes and ensure that they reflect the collective expertise, priorities and long-term vision of key stakeholders across the automotive ecosystem. This collaborative approach promotes alignment and encourages innovation across the industry.
The evolution of the roadmap
Over the past 18 months, APC has held in-person and online workshops, conducting surveys and webinars with over 430 participants across 230 global organizations covering industry, academia and government representatives. The roadmap provides a comprehensive knowledge base, one-stop shop where necessary, allowing access to a substantial amount of information compiled from input provided by a wide range of relevant stakeholders, who are experts and experts in all fields. This is what makes these documents such a valuable resource.
It is interesting to note how the roadmap has evolved. This year, we will introduce two brand new roadmaps focusing on “product mobility” and “people mobility” to predict changing trends in mass transport and logistics, and have a major impact on the industry’s landscape. Such a transition will allow for a holistic approach to innovation both on-vehicle and adjacent sectors and drivers, including energy infrastructure, end-users, social integration and of course sustainability goals.
We receive great interest and support from the automotive supply chain and the broader industrial ecosystem for this approach, highlighting opportunities across the broader transportation sector.
Mike Haws, CEO of the Association of Automakers and Traders (SMMT), said in the introduction to two new system-level roadmaps that these changes “require a new system-level roadmap.”
Different vehicle applications require different solutions. There are a variety of complementary private and public transport solutions. Some individuals, shares, some require high power solutions, some are much less. And this diverse technology applies equally to the mobility of goods. ”
In addition to the mobility roadmap, we have updated six underlying technology roadmap: electrical energy storage, electrical machinery, electronic equipment, weight reduction, ice, hydrogen fuel cell systems, and storage.
Four important themes
All roadmap addresses several key themes, including strengthening end-to-end sustainability of automotive products and services, building resilience in the automotive supply chain across the strategic technology value chain, affordability for end users, and strengthening net zero value propositions.
To be clear, we analyzed a set of cross-cut themes from all roadmaps covering policy and regulations, energy and infrastructure, materials and manufacturing, and digitization. These four main themes are designed to promote collaboration across industry, academia and government.
The UK is recognized worldwide for its world-class research and academic excellence. This reputation plays the most important role in achieving innovation, strengthening partnerships between academia and industry, and applying research to real-world solutions. Indeed, collaboration is a key link between automakers and their supply chains working closely together to establish a truly sustainable lifecycle of parts and components, and to the UK’s automotive industry over the next few years.
Collaboration is important to ensure that policies reflect our ambitions not only between automakers and supply chains but also between governments, but also in terms of both sustainability and trade policy to strengthen the UK’s auto industry and its support sector.
Digitalization
Digitalization becomes a key enabler of sustainability. This is a constant theme across all roadmaps, touching on every aspect of technology. From generating “digital twins” to introducing manufacturing efficiency and process improvements to enable rapid prototyping and verification, it is becoming more and more crucial to the way we operate.
Already, digitalization is emerging to support the material discovery process, to speed up this process, reduce waste, create digital passports, advances in simulation technology, and to support continuous evaluation and monitoring of systems and components.
“Digitization offers the possibility of providing the ability to optimize the entire system without the need for a range of expensive prototypes. In general, the UK is well suited to engineering some of what we do in the fintech sector.”
Promote sustainability
Sustainability, product lifecycle, cyclicity, and traceability of origin are other common themes implemented through roadmap. Since the “Dieselgate” scandal nearly a decade ago, the spotlight has been in the automotive industry, with innovation focusing on decarbonisation of all vehicles across the transportation sector, marked as a priority along with the introduction of a support regulatory framework.
Within the roadmap, we look at all modes of car transportation, from passenger cars and heavy goods vehicles to off-highway and non-road mobile machinery (NRMM) applications. Product lifecycle management for all these applications has led to an upward rise in the prioritization agenda at a global scale.
Regulations are currently promoting sustainability measures, with the UK, which sets bars around the world, focusing on creating a comprehensive model of circular economy and sustainable car manufacturing. At the start of the roadmap there was a lot of discussion about one of the panels that hosted what we needed and what we needed.
Carol Burke, managing director of Unipart Manufacturing Group, saw the UK’s strengths and threats and spoke about the importance of suppliers who have a clear strategy for the path to decarbonization. She said: “We encourage original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to sit with their suppliers to think about the features they have in the UK and come up with the solutions they need. Sustainability presents a cost issue, but also an opportunity.”
Future busy times
With many actions taken, the automotive industry and its support sector will be busy over the next few years. The roadmap provides a much-needed focus on activities and highly views them as working documents or reference points. Things change, but not everything happens the way it is here.
In recent years, we have seen global events have a way of making the best planning unsettling. With geopolitical tensions continuing in many regions, we must do what we can to ensure that the UK automotive industry and its supply chains are resilient, productive, sustainable and efficient.
The statement made at the Roadmap launch event is aptly concluded by Joe Bray, Director of the Bureau of Business and Trade (DBT). She said: “The automotive industry is a pillar of the UK economy, supporting employment and research and development (R&D), which is part of the UK’s transition to net Zero, which supports high-quality jobs.
More information is accessible through APC’s online knowledge base hub, along with technology and systems-level roadmap and supported narrative reports. If you would like to contribute to future roadmap reviews, please email roadmaps@apcuk.co.uk today.
Advanced Propulsion Center UK (APC) will work with the UK government, automotive industry and academia to support the transition to zero-emission vehicles and accelerate the industrialization of technology towards the UK’s net-zero automotive supply chain.
Founded in 2013, APC has promoted funding for 304 low carbon and zero emissions projects involving 538 partners, with the support of the UK government’s Department of Business and Trade (DBT). The funds, which work with businesses of all sizes, have been estimated to have helped create or protect more than 59,000 jobs in the UK. The technologies and products arising from these projects are projected to save more than 425 million tonnes of CO2.
With deep sector expertise and cutting-edge knowledge of new propulsion technologies, the role of APC in building and advisory for Project Consortia will allow projects to be launched more quickly, helping to increase value and accelerating new technologies to the market. APC works to promote innovation, promote collaboration, build the foundation for a successful and sustainable UK automotive industry.
In 2020, the UK government established the Automotive Transformation Fund (ATF) to accelerate the development of net zero vehicle supply chains, enabling UK-based manufacturers to serve global markets. ATF investments are accessed through APC and awarded by DBT to support strategically important UK capital and R&D investments that enable companies involved in batteries, motors, drives, power electronics, fuel cells and related supply chains to lock in the future.
For more information, visit apcuk.co.uk or follow @Theapcuk on X and follow Advanced Propulsion Center UK on LinkedIn.
For media inquiries, please contact us.
Laurah Hutchinson-Strin Senior PR Manager Email: laurah.hutchinson-strain@apcuk.co.uk
This article will also be featured in the 20th edition of Quarterly Publishing.
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