Innovate UK and the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) are to invest up to £20m in collaborative research & development projects to significantly reduce the mass of road-going vehicles.

The aim is to bring together and develop the best UK supply chain capability and expertise in the areas of advanced lightweight materials, as well as system and sub-system redesign and innovation, to make significant and necessary leaps in road vehicle weight reduction in order to reduce CO2 and other emissions.

Projects funded by this competition will have the opportunity for follow-on support via the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) to further develop the products and processes towards commercialisation.

Proposals must be collaborative and be led by a UK-based business organisation. The projects will be expected to contain mainly industrial research activity. Small businesses could receive up to 70% of their eligible project costs, medium-sized businesses 60% and large businesses 50%.

Consortia need to include at least one vehicle manufacturer or Tier 1 supplier.

The projects are expected to range in size from total costs of £2m to £5m, and to last between 18 and 36 months, although projects outside these ranges may be considered.

This is a two-stage competition that opens for applications on 24 August 2015. The deadline for registration is noon on 7 October 2015, and the deadline for applications is at noon on 14 October 2015.

There will be a competition briefing and consortium-building event for potential applicants in Droitwich Spa in Worcestershire on 3 September 2015.

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