WMG awarded £2.2 million for electric vehicle research

Within the first five days of this year, London welcomed 2017 by breaking its yearly nitrogen dioxide limit. NO2 is known to irritate mucous membranes, worsening respiratory disease, so this highlighted the urgent need for cleaner energy sources for our vehicles.

In hopes of achieving this, electric vehicle (EV) technology developer ZAPINAMO has been awarded £2.2 million to collaborate with Warwick Manufacturing Group and others in the testing of new technologies. The award follows a competition, run by the Department for Transport and funded by the Office for Low Emission Vehicles and Innovate UK, which delivers £20 million total into the development of ‘clean’ freight/logistic vehicles. It is believed the industry currently contributes 30% of the UK’s transport carbon dioxide emission, so a successful outcome to the research would be a great environmental achievement. It is hoped that vans will become electric and lorries fuelled by hydrogen dual-fuel and the end goal is for all new cars and vans to be zero emission by 2040.

It is believed the industry currently contributes 30% of the UK’s transport carbon dioxide emission, so a successful outcome to the research would be a great environmental achievement.

ZAPINAMO specialises in developing charging systems for EVs, including ones that operate on or off the grid and on renewable energy sources, tackling the other looming issue of our finite fossil fuel supply. This is an important area of research as this is criticism of electrical vehicles- they need to get their electricity from somewhere. Presently ZAPINAMO’s charging equipment can deliver up to 400kW in a matter of minutes. Now WMG, already known for its work on Jaguar’s electric vehicles, will join them in trialling technology developed for freight and delivery specialised vehicles in order to further improve these figures.

This is an important area of research as this is criticism of electrical vehicles- they need to get their electricity from somewhere.

The specific work that WMG and ZAPINAMO will be carrying out revolves around another partner, Farmdrop, a self-proclaimed ethical food delivery group. The collaboration aims to develop a ‘rapid charging facility’ for Farmdrop’s fleet of electric vans, with the trials being located in Bermondsey in South London. The project could be one more step towards a more optimistic and sustainable future for us all.