Dr Hadi Moztarzadeh, Head of Technology Trends at the UK Advanced Propulsion Center, shares key insights from the JSAE Parliament’s automotive industry, including battery recycling, software-defined vehicles and advances in sustainable practices.
I recently attended and was pleased to present to the annual JSAE Congress adopted by Japan by the Automotive Engineers Association. As an organization, APC has hosted UK pavilions at JSAE for the past 12 years and has always been one of the key events on the annual calendar.
JSAE is full of insightful keynotes, offering a global perspective on the automotive industry, both in terms of current play and what is ahead. It is even more important for the UK automotive industry, as it has its presence from two UK global OEMs, from Nissan and Toyota.
The exhibition space is very amazing, spanning two large halls with organizations and businesses around the world, including major automakers and halls packed with all the elements and parts of the supply chain that can be packed with motors, chips, chips, hydrogen storage tanks, fuel cells, batteries, steering-You-name.
JSAE’s APC
Noting how much interest we are from our international peers in what is developing in the UK, I was honored to be invited to present on behalf of APC for the first time at an event. My focus was on the UK and Europe battery recycling outlook, particularly inclined to the UK’s opportunities for lithium battery recycling. How we are innovating to ensure compliance with European battery regulatory requirements. The battery contents must be recycled into a new cell. This threshold will increase as it moves over the next decade.
Software-defined vehicle
As a takeaway from the event, I felt there were some important themes that were fully emphasized. One was to apply all these technologies to software-defined vehicles (SDVs) and control systems, as well as all parts of the vehicle itself. This includes ways to get in touch with supply chains, subsystems, and connectivity between vehicles and infrastructure. This was across the agenda, including the role of artificial intelligence (AI). It can improve vehicle performance, provide a personalized driving experience, or provide a more extensive ecosystem and connectivity between vehicles, infrastructure, and urban facilities, such as maintenance of the vehicle itself, vehicles, infrastructure, charging management, and refueling.
Having heard about Honda and Sony’s collaboration, focusing on the electric vehicle (EV) supply chain, it was interesting to develop a fully digital, real-time data supply with full integration into the vehicle. Another thing that intrigued me was Foxconn, a Taiwanese electronics contract manufacturer that manufactures mobile phones and tablets. They are exploring and collaborating with the likes of Taiwan’s tier automotive suppliers such as Nissan and Jtektj, with a focus on modular EV platforms and integrated software.
We have recently seen the UK opportunities for automotive software and control systems, and from what I have observed, there is more to do in this area. SDV is an area where innovation is happening at a pace and definitely something to look at carefully!
Recycling, sustainability, and circular economy
Toyota Motor Europe (TME) introduced the establishment of Toyota Circular Factory (TCF) at the JSAE conference. The first TCF will be carried out at the Toyota Manufacturing Barnaston plant in Derbyshire, UK, and will provide careful and systematic processing of the vehicle at the end of its lifetime to maximize the environmental benefits of recycling, reuse and remanufacturing.
It was great to learn that the UK views a world as a leader, holistic view of battery recycling and sustainability. We are driven by requirements from the EU Battery Regulation Act, and there is a lot of encouragement in the UK that the OEMS and associated UK battery industry are now acting and integrating ways to meet regulations into future plans. I was surprised to learn that it is a topic not at the top of Japan’s agenda, mainly because I feel that China is already leading here. But what was clear is that Japanese people are now beginning to invest in this field and are turning to the UK to learn more about what they can do to build relationships and relationships that provide lifecycle opportunities.
Green Agenda for Product Mobility
An important theme throughout the event was that already required work in play in Japan, creating a “Green Hallway.” Regulation debates have been introduced to promote the sustainability of commercial vehicles and the movement of goods. This was an area where APCs pay a lot of attention in a report launched last fall, detailing the roadmap for merchandise mobility, so it was interesting to talk about this in JSAE. We believe that addressing future trends in movement and behavior of people and products will impact technology requirements in the coming years.
Manufacturing scale up
At JSAE, there was a lot of discussion about manufacturing scale-ups, particularly battery technology and innovation. In Japan, China has established numerous recycling, reuse and remanufacturing facilities, and it was great to hear from Toyota at the event about its commitment to the circular economy agenda announced in March. It is planned that the first factory to provide the circular economy agenda principles will be established in the UK. There’s a lot of noise about this in JSAE and Toyota seems to be committed to making this happen. The Circular Economy model was featured heavily in their event stands, and they attracted a lot of attention.
There was a wider topic focusing on not only sustainable manufacturing of materials, but also on material processing and converting their raw or recycled materials into battery-grade or automotive grade materials for various systems and subsystems.
Emerging technologies
As you can imagine, new technology was at the heart of many sessions in the JSAE Congress. Topics such as solid-state batteries and fast charging solutions were some of the innovative solutions highlighted. It was interesting to hear about Toyota and BMW’s investment in this, but while we don’t see anything lean in the UK market, it’s a technology that APC addressed in a recent report that the development of battery chemistry could take.
Another obvious technology was the hydrogen internal combustion engine (ICE). Again, while not leading the fees in the UK, it is a technology that shines the spotlight in Southeast Asia and is considered a viable technology to consider when dealing with the decarbonization of applications like heavy duty and highways. There were many presentations at the event on this topic.
Roads that map the future
The conversation was interesting and it was fascinating to see the routes that different global regions are taking to become more sustainable within their clean autonomous sectors and their supply chains, but Parliament, on behalf of the Automobile Council UK, highlighted to me the importance of the roadmap announced by the APC in 2024.
A total of eight roadmaps have been launched, with six cover technologies and two roadmaps focusing on product and people’s mobility. One point from the JSAE is that these roadmaps are key guides to maintaining an industry focused on what is needed to deliver a net-zero future in the automotive sector. All topics that dominated conversations and presentations in JSAE are extremely important as cross-cut themes throughout all roadmap, including lifecycle, AI, and digitalization.
We are now taking our roadmap a step further, conducting a detailed analysis of the key innovations to unlock the current, sustainable future. Over the next few months, we will launch these into the public domain with the view that it will guide industry focus, strategy, policy, regulation and investment. It will enable the UK auto industry to become a world leader in the sustainable manufacturing of clean technologies and powertrains supported by a robust supply chain and skilled workforce. It highlights areas of focus and strategic priorities as collaborations targeted by industry, government and research institutes can accelerate commercialization and add value to the future maintenance of the UK automotive industry.
The first innovation report focusing on electrical energy storage can be read here. Further innovation reports will be published after fall 2025.
The conclusion is
SDV, digitalization, AI, and sustainability in the technology lifecycle and manufacturing process were key priorities for me. It’s great to hear from our Japanese peers that they view the UK as an ideological plan in terms of overall planning for the vehicle’s end-to-end value chain. It is clear that we have a global reputation as great innovators, and this was demonstrated by highlighting Toyota’s commitment to providing the first ever circular economy factory in the UK.
Access the APC knowledge base and download a wealth of analytics and trend insights, including roadmaps and innovation reports.
About Advanced Propulsion Center UK
Advanced Propulsion Center UK (APC) is working with the UK government, the automotive industry and academia to promote research and investment in the production of zero-emission vehicles. Founded in 2013 and jointly funded by the Bureau of Business and Trade (DBT and the Department of Automotive Industry), APC will support the transition to zero-emission vehicles and accelerate the technology that will support the transition to the UK’s net-zero automotive supply chain.
With its proven track record, APC has encouraged funding for 354 low-carbon and zero-emissions projects involving 614 partners. Working with companies of all sizes, this funding since 2013 is estimated to help create or protect more than 59,000 jobs in the UK. The technology and products are projected to save more than 425 million tonnes of CO2.
APC is committed to maintaining and enhancing the UK’s long-term automotive capabilities and investment through knowledge sharing, collaboration and innovation. Focusing on three key areas (innovation, scale-up and transformation) is to encourage innovation and investment in globally competitive zero-emission vehicle supply chains, building a strong economy by providing safer, smarter, more sustainable and affordable mobility.
innovation
Funding and process innovation for zero-emission vehicles’ strategic and disruptive technology products, such as digital tools and AI-powered processes.
Scale up
Accelerate manufacturing and expand sustainable production processes by catalyzing investments in advanced technology for zero-emission vehicles.
conversion
Promote capital investments in internationally competitive EV supply chains, upgrading or establishing new plants, ensuring future zero-emission vehicle assembly in the UK.
For more information, visit apcuk.co.uk or follow @Theapcuk on X and follow “Advanced Propulsion Center UK” on LinkedIn.
This article will also be featured in the 23rd edition of Quarterly Publication.
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