When news broke in July that Tata Group was planning to invest more than £4bn into a new electric car battery factory in the UK, there was an overwhelming sense of relief from industry.
The domestic car sector needed a big ‘battery’ win to restore some much-needed confidence and to hopefully coax other car makers that we could still be at the front of the grid in the electrification race.
For those at the very heart of the decarbonisation and future mobility conversation there was optimism, but there was also the feeling that this wasn’t the time to roll out the bunting and celebrate a glorious national triumph.
No, the focus had to be on this landmark investment decision being the first step in a much bigger journey towards meeting the government’s ambitious target of ending the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030.
It’s a notion I have been championing long before the owners of Jaguar Land Rover identified Bridgwater as the preferred location.
The UK is doing so well in developing some of the early technologies that will be supporting the EV race, but we now face a real tipping point.
2030 is rapidly approaching and without accelerating our domestic EV production base and associated supply chains, we will be increasingly reliant on imports. We can’t let this happen.
We need to look at our supply chains and the skills that are going to support these factories. There’s a lot of work being done in transitioning existing workers into the new roles and ensuring SMEs are supported to come on the journey with us.
Talking Point
This is a train of thought I believe will dominate Cenex-LCV and Cenex-CAM when it kicks-off at UTAC Millbrook next week (6th-7th September).
Viewed as one of the most influential events in the EV calendar, I will be heading down as one of a ten-strong team of experts attending from Coventry University’s Institute for Clean Growth & Future Mobility.
Together, we will be showcasing the technology and opportunities the university is pursuing and achieving through its three main Research Centres - E-Mobility and Clean Growth, Manufacturing and Materials and Future Transport and Cities.
Those names may not mean a lot to people in industry until you realise they house pioneering initiatives such as the Institute for Advanced Manufacturing & Engineering (AME), the National Transport Design Centre (NTDC), the Centre for Advanced Low Carbon Propulsion Systems (C-ALPS) and the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Automotive Research (CCAAR).
Whilst there is lot of focus on eliminating tailpipe emissions, we must get away from thinking that’s enough to meet Net Zero targets.
There must be a wider, holistic approach. As well as driving our cars around, we need to consider emissions from manufacturing processes, supply chains and what happens to vehicles at end-of-life, so we can build a sustainable and full circular economy solution for future vehicles.
Skills
The lifeblood of UK manufacturing continues to be SMEs and if we are going to build a competitive supply chain that is fit for purpose then we need to ensure we leverage their innovation, brain power and agility.
This means a massive shift in approach for management teams already challenged by rising energy costs and massive inflation pressures.
Skills must be a key focus. How do you train your staff if you don’t know what the 250,000 new Green Economy jobs predicted by the government will look like?
It’s a difficult task and there’s a massive piece of work to do around mapping out what these roles look like and what those skills are for businesses getting started on their own Net Zero journey.
One example where Coventry University has made an initial impact is the launch of the Electric Revolution Skills (ERS) Hub, which will also be showcased at Cenex-LCV.
More than 200 delegates were at the launch in March to hear how this new integrated digital platform will provide access to training, development and jobs for people looking to get into, or who are currently involved in power electronics, machines and drives (PEMD).
The ERS Hub is an important new weapon in the sector’s arsenal and will help firms understand what skills are needed through a Body of Knowledge and a cutting-edge skills diagnostic tool. It offers a potential blueprint for other electrification/Net Zero disciplines to follow.
Another success has been the ERDF-funded Green Business Programme, which saw Coventry University work with 90 SMEs on mapping out their baseline carbon footprint and creating targeted action plans to reduce it.
This initiative was so well received, a further transport-related decarbonisation project, Clean Futures, has been backed by the West Midlands Combined Authority Innovation Accelerator.
Pushing the dial
Coventry University is focused on the challenges we are facing in society, understanding policy, and then aligning our research and technologies to deliver impactful solutions.
This means we are managing one of the largest portfolios of projects in clean mobility in the UK, and this is just the start. We must collaborate more to move the dial so that the tipping point for Net Zero goes in the right direction.
Carl Perrin, CEO of the Institute for Clean Growth & Future Mobility at Coventry University
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