Funding will put F1 technology into buses and diggers

Consortia led by GKN, JCB, Cummins and Ford received the funding from the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC), a joint £1bn government-industry fund established as part of the government’s industrial strategy.

APC will see government and industry invest £500m equally in the sector over the next decade to research, develop and commercialise technologies for the vehicles of the future.

The funding announcement was made by business secretary Vince Cable during a visit to Ford in Dunton, Essex.

For their part, Ford and partners will receive a £13.1m grant toward a £100m programme to upgrade the EcoBoost engine, whilst a consortium led by GKN Land Systems will receive a £7.5m grant as part of a £16m project to apply Formula 1 technology from Williams for use in buses.

Cummins and their partners will receive a £4.9m grant for a £9.9m project to deliver reductions in carbon emissions from bus engines through the development of new stop-start diesel engine technology; and JCB, with Flybrid, will £3.3m as part of a £7.3m project to apply Formula 1 technology for use in diggers. For the latter project, it is estimated that the carbon emissions of a single 20 tonne excavator will be reduced by 16 tonnes per year.