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Shaping the Future, Today

Shaping The Future, Today

Applications close midnight 14 January 2024

Apply now

Future Focused Solutions for Climate Mitigation and Adaptation – Open Call and Investment Forum for UK and UAE Businesses

The COP28 – Net Zero Mitigation & Resilience Solutions for the UAE programme is seeking to develop long-term, business led research and innovation collaborations between UAE based investors and SMEs and the UK to address pivotal climate change mitigation and resilience challenges.  
 
Funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office’s Gulf Strategy Fund, this programme is responding to three opportunities outlined in the 2023 iteration of Dubai Future Foundation’s The Global 50 future opportunities report. The challenges have been chosen to create collaborations that merge local and UK expertise.  
 
We will work with Dubai Future Foundation and Expo City Dubai to offer UK and UAE SMEs the opportunity to connect and collaborate on solutions to three challenges focusing on minimising environmental risks, harnessing nature’s capacity to restore itself and radically changing ways of life by replacing the models that countries, communities and individuals live by. 
 
For each challenge, we will select 4 SMEs, two based in the UK and two based in UAE to showcase their solution to the challenge in Dubai at the end of March 2024. The selected companies will also present their business to a selected group of UAE based investors at an Investor Pitch Evening. Where appropriate and viable, the showcase presentations may be selected to be installed at Expo City Dubai, or other suitable venues, for a period of 3 months.

Application Support Webinar

We will host an application support webinar on 8 January 2024.

This webinar will cover the background to the programme, the challenges it is aiming to address, how the programme will benefit SMEs, guidance on how to apply and information on the application process.

Register now

Key Dates

Programme Challenges

Learn more about the challenges here

The Dubai Future Foundation is at the forefront of creating innovation platforms that allow for ideas to take shape through strategic collaboration locally in Dubai and globally, shaping a better future.

Among the organisation’s initiatives, The Global 50 shares Dubai Future Foundation’s view of the future and outlines 50 opportunities for growth, prosperity and well-being. Some of these opportunities may be in their early days of exploration, some require reflection and some feel very far away.

Connected Places Catapult’s technology experts have chosen three specific challenges from the 2023 edition of The Global 50 which link to accelerating innovation in our cities and will allow us to explore specific ideas and initiatives that can bring positive long-term financial, environmental and societal outcomes.

1: What if the next wave of car technology innovation was in the wheels? 

A series of technological innovations in the wheels redefine the future of car transport – from maglev (magnetic levitation) solutions and drone-like technologies to the replacement of rubber in tyres and new ways of conceptualising the function of wheels on a car. 
 
We are particularly interested in sensor / AI driven solutions to optimising tyre and brake wear and reducing pollutants for EVs. 

Why it matters today: Tyres and brake systems produce large amounts of microplastics as by-products. Up to 100,000 tonnes of microplastics from tyres end up in the ocean each year and a further 40,000 tonnes of microplastics come from wear and tear on car brakes. With the average scrapped car tyre weighing 9 kg, the amount of microplastics discharged into the ocean is equivalent to 11 million tyres each year. Research suggests that nanoparticles generated from road traffic can cause harm, and increased road traffic is a major cause of high particle concentrations in polluted urban areas. Atmospheric particulate matter was recognised as the leading cause of 43,000 premature deaths in Europe by the European Environment Agency in 2015.

The opportunity: The transport landscape is changing. Imaginative new applications of drone or maglev (magnetic levitation) technology could be the future. For example, in one scenario, there could be hybrid vehicles that are capable of running on electricity or alternative fuels but that switch over to maglev mode when the infrastructure is available. This would prevent the release of nanoparticles of dust, plastic and minerals into the atmosphere, as well as reducing noise levels. Such solutions would make the roads cleaner, improving ecosystems and human health.

Replacing rubber tyres with new materials and new wheel and brake technologies can minimise wear and tear on both vehicles and road surfaces. When used safely, lower-friction – or even frictionless solutions, augmented by advanced machine intelligence and autonomous systems – can cut energy consumption, enabling electric vehicles to travel further.

Wheels could become multifunctional. Rethinking the functionality of wheels and tyres beyond simply transportation and carrying the load of the car could lead to the development of wheels that can generate energy, filter nanoparticles and absorb emissions, among other applications.

2: What if we could absorb greenhouse gas emissions and particulate matter on demand anywhere in the world?

Enabled by materials science, automation and advanced machine intelligence, emissions and particulate matter are absorbed on an as-needed basis, anywhere in the world, independent of technological capabilities available on hand. 

Why it matters today: On average, those living in the largest urban cities in the MENA region breathe in 10 times the level of pollutants in the air that the World Health Organization considers safe.

The opportunity: Clean air will one day be a critical need if climate change persists. Materials science, automation and advanced machine intelligence could contribute to the invention of a mobile emissions and particulate matter (PM) scrubber that could absorb carbon dioxide, other greenhouse gases and PM anywhere in the world. If this idea were scaled, scrubbers could be positioned at sea as offshore platforms to absorb emissions and PM. 

Mobile emissions and PM scrubbers could be standalone solutions powered by renewable sources of energy. Using advanced materials, they could efficiently absorb greenhouse gases and PM and either store them for later use or convert them into fuel and other non-harmful, possibly useful chemicals. 

3: What if deliveries went underground?

An AI-powered pneumatic tube system for city-wide delivery on demand that offers a completely integrated OnDemand delivery model reviving an old approach with the technological advances needed. 

The opportunity: The idea of a city-wide pneumatic tube system is not new – no longer operational because of high operational costs, the New York postal service was connected in 1897 through pipes that delivered letters and parcels around the city.  

New materials, new building techniques and automated, AI-powered distribution centres could offer completely integrated on-demand delivery models giving traction in reviving the former approach. Pneumatic tunnels (also called vacuum tunnels) embedded into the urban infrastructure to connect buildings and distribution nodes could offer ‘beyond-the-doorstep’ delivery solutions to hospitals and other critical services. With development costs integrated into zoning and real estate plans, the tunnel system could be run on a pay-per-use basis. 

Integrating small robotic distribution centres around cities would mean that packages could be electronically tagged for delivery to an address and loaded into a sealed pipe for instant dispatch. Buildings would be equipped with hatches where goods could be sent and received. Perfect traceability of goods from dispatch to delivery would be guaranteed, as the system would automatically track tagged goods via distributed ledger technology databases. 

What’s on offer to SMEs?

6 UK and 6 UAE companies will be selected to participate in this programme and benefit from tailored support from Connected Places Catapult experts, and funding leading up to the presentation of their solutions and investor pitches.

UK Based SMEs will be provided with financial assistance up to £10k in total value to develop their showcase presentations and cover the travel and accommodation for the trip to Dubai in March 2024.

UK SMEs will receive:

  • Workshops to prepare their showcase presentations.
  • Funding to create a showcase.
  • Bespoke support from Connected Places Catapult to prepare for investment pitches
  • A trip to Dubai which will include:
    • An Investment Summit
    • A Showcase Event
    • In-country networking and introductions

UAE SMEs will receive:

  • Bespoke support from the Connected Places Catapult to prepare for investment pitches.
  • A trip to Dubai which will include:
    • An Investment Summit
    • A Showcase Event
    • In-country networking and introductions
    • Excursions

Am I eligible for this programme?

UK SME eligibility criteria for UK organisations:

  • You must be a registered UK company.
  • You are ready and willing to collaborate and showcase your solution in the UAE.
  • You need to be export-ready, but no previous export experience is required.
  • The technology on which your solution (product or service) will be based should be TRL 3-4 and above, e.g., at proof of concept stage or above.
  • Desire to expand internationally.

UAE SME eligibility criteria:

  • You must be a registered organisation according to your national legislation.
  • You are ready and willing to collaborate and showcase your solution.
  • You need to be export-ready, but no previous export experience is required.
  • The technology on which your solution (product or service) will be based should be TRL 3-4 and above.
  • Desire to expand internationally.

How to apply

Please register through the link below. Applications close midnight 14 January 2024

Apply now

Supporting Documents

Competition ScopeSelection Criteria

Point of contact

If you have any questions about the programme and application, please contact:

Megan Ford, SME Ecosystem Support Officer, megan.ford@cp.catapult.org.uk  

Application Support Webinar

Register for our application support webinar on 8 Janaury 2024

This webinar will cover the background to the programme, the challenges it is aiming to address, how the programme will benefit SMEs, guidance on how to apply and information on the application process.

Register Now
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Smart City Expo World Congress 2023

Welcome to the new urban era

When and where?

FIRA, Barcelona and online
7th - 9th November 2023
9:00am - 6:00pm

Tickets

This event is now complete

Visit the UK Pavilion Powered by Connected Places Catapult in Hall P1, stand 61, to discover exciting technological innovation from partners from across the UK.

Sam Markey, our Ecosystem Director, Place Leadership, will co-host an insight-rich event on innovation-friendly procurement with pioneering place leaders from across the world, on the UK Pavilion on Tuesday, 7 November, from 14:00.

On Wednesday, 8 November, our Principal Place Development Leader, Catherine Hadfield, will Chair a session on the role of Innovation Districts in the digital future of cities and regions, from noon.

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Zero-Emission Road Freight

Connected Places Catapult is helping to accelerate the transition to zero-emission road freight.

Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) are vital to industry and represent the backbone of trade and commerce worldwide. They are responsible for ensuring we have access to food, medicines, and goods of all kinds.

Almost 90% of domestic goods transported in the UK in 2022 were moved by road – the vast majority of which by heavy goods vehicles (HGVs). These vehicles currently produce approximately 19% of all UK domestic transport greenhouse gas emissions. By 2050, this must be reduced to zero, in line with the UK Government’s Net Zero Strategy.

Connected Places Catapult is supporting Innovate UK and the Department for Transport with the Zero Emission Road Freight Demonstration programme (ZERFD). ZERFD represents a public investment of up to £200 million, match-funded by industry. The programme will see the launch of the first large (40+ tonne) zero-emission HGVs in significant numbers, together with supporting infrastructure, which will enable freight operators to determine the suitability of the new technology for their operations. Public-facing battery-electric charging stations and hydrogen refuelling stations will enable HGVs to go beyond ‘back to base’ operations.

Further information regarding the ZERFD programme can be found here and a full list of the winning consortia partners has been published here.

Together with BSI, Connected Places Catapult is supporting partners involved in the Innovate UK-funded demonstrations and stakeholders in the wider zero-emission HGV ecosystem.

There are four strands to our DfT-funded project.

Standards – in partnership with BSI

Standards are crucial in ensuring zero-emission HGVs can roll out in an efficient and safe manner, with interoperability embedded from the start, and to create a market that delivers on required outcomes. Through the standards work, in partnership with BSI, we have formed a Standards Advisory Group for ZERFD that will provide the decision making and governance for the standards development work.  Three ‘flex’ standards, which are well suited to fast-moving areas of innovation, will be developed through the project.

You can see the latest on our standards work, here.

Commercial and Investment Strategy

The public / private investment through ZERFD is crucial in helping to bring stakeholders together and roll out the initial vehicles and infrastructure, but it is just a starting point. Much more finance will be needed to fully transition the 600,000 HGVs across the UK and the millions around the world. These investments will ultimately be offset by reduced total cost of ownership with lower fuel costs, increased driver satisfaction and improved sustainability as we move towards circular supply chains. We are speaking to the UK-based and international investor ecosystem to create a long-term and sustainable programme of decarbonisation. We intend to create a trade and investment bridge for the programme, raise the profile of ZERFD activities to local and international markets and position the UK as a thought leader and green partner of choice.

Safety and Security Best Practice

Safety is top of the agenda when developing zero-emission demonstrations of HGVs. We are seeking industry consensus on best practice in terms of safety and security to inform both demonstrations and longer term roll out of vehicles and infrastructure.  Standards and guidance documents must work together with regulations to ensure safe practices are embedded as existing industries transition and new industries are formed.

Our best practice document, to be published in December 2023, will consider the operation, refuelling/charging, maintenance, and recovery of the vehicles. The focus is on new hazards that are novel to heavy duty battery electric and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.

Infrastructure Planning Best Practice

Planning and regulatory hurdles are a key barrier to wide-scale infrastructure deployment for zero emission HGVs.  In December 2023, we will publish a reference document for stakeholders involved in planning, design and roll out of battery-electric charging and hydrogen refuelling infrastructure.

We will consider the overall system of HGV charging / refuelling, and the decisions needed from the earliest concept stage through to operations. Our scope includes barriers, existing and emerging guidance, charging/refuelling location, the planning and regulatory landscape, funding and case studies.

Joined Up Thinking

Our subject areas overlap considerably. For example, one of the biggest safety concerns is allocating sufficient space for public HGV refuelling/recharging facilities, which has an impact on the financing of the site and on the infrastructure planning. We will consider these interdependencies in our reporting, and would welcome further discussion with other sectors.

“Decarbonisation across all sectors is the defining challenge of the next three decades, and will be the key driver of innovation and change. At Connected Places Catapult, we’re proud to be pushing this agenda forwards, not just for HGVs with our ZERFD project, but across transport modes.”
Professor Henry Tse, Director of New Mobility Technologies, Connected Places Catapult

How do I get involved?

If you’d like to find out more, please email us at zeroemissionroadfreight@cp.catapult.org.uk.

You can also register for our showcase event, the Connected Places Summit, in March 2024, which will include the latest on ZERFD.

Phase 1 reports

These reports were produced in the first phase of the ZERFD programme, and are being developed in the next phase.

ZERFT Phase 1 – Standards landscape and gap analysis – January 2022
File Type: pdfFile size: 4.7MB
ZERFT Phase 1 – Market opportunity mapping – March 2022
File Type: pdfFile size: 2.4MB
ZERFT Phase 1 – Regulation and safety roadmap – March 2022
File Type: pdfFile size: 17.9MB
ZERFT Phase 1 – Summary of Concept Safety Analysis – March 2022
File Type: pdfFile size: 17.6MB
ZERFT Phase 1 – Data objectives and data stakeholder mapping – March 2022
File Type: pdfFile size: 2.0MB
ZERFT Phase 1 – Comparison of Transport Decarbonisation projects – March 2022
File Type: pdfFile size: 4.9MB
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Carbon reduction champions shortlisted in National Highways programme

Innovative low carbon approaches to road construction and maintenance will receive funding and business support.
Group photo of Accelerator cohort

Seven companies have been selected to join a carbon reduction competition organised by National Highways and Connected Places Catapult.

Innovative ideas put forward to proceed to the second phase of the National Highways Accelerating Low Carbon Innovation Programme include a climbing robot that carries out structural inspections, ‘smart fibre’ plastic bridge beams that monitor structural performance and low carbon fencing materials.

Each shortlisted company will receive between £15,000 and £30,000 to develop their proposals in collaboration with National Highways and several Tier 1 suppliers. Connected Places Catapult will provide coaching, help with marketing strategy and investment support.

The seven companies and their ideas making it through to the next stage of the competition are:

Asset International Structures (Cwmbran) – Developing smart fibre reinforced plastic bridge beams that incorporate optical fibre, enabling structural performance monitoring in real time.

Circular11 (Ferndown) – Providing durable, low carbon fencing and acoustic insulation products; turning mixed low-grade plastic waste into composite material.

HausBots (Birmingham) – Delivering a series of structural inspections using a unique climbing and crawling robot fitted with inspection sensors.

Loopcycle (London) – Creation of a whole life carbon measurement and circular economy tool for use across highway estate assets.

Low Carbon Materials (Seaham) – Delivering a carbon negative aggregate for use in carbon neutral asphalt.

PRG (Scotland) (Hamilton) – Turning waste tyres into useful materials such as a bitumen-like substance for use in road construction and repairs.

Xeroc (London) ­­–­­ Recycling old concrete into new concrete, returning each component to its original form with as little contamination as possible.

Alex Weedon, Executive Director, Connected Places Catapult, SME Development and Academic Engagement said: “National Highways’ goal of achieving net zero emissions involves finding innovative solutions to support decarbonisation, particularly in the maintenance and construction of the strategic road network.

“Connected Places Catapult is proud to have been chosen as a delivery partner for this accelerator project. We look forward to supporting the SMEs in the development of their solutions, and turning bright ideas into commercial products and services.”
Alex Weedon, Executive Director, Connected Places Catapult, SME Development and Academic Engagement

National Highways aims for its maintenance and road construction activities to generate net zero emissions by 2040.

The competition set four challenges for innovative companies to address with their new ideas: alternative materials; decision making enablers for asset management and the whole life value of assets; enablers for the circular economy; and an open challenge.

“We want to speed up innovation within our sector and adopt new solutions. The innovation accelerator will help take potential solutions and drive them through the research and testing phases.”
Dr Joanna White, National Highways Roads Development Director
National Highways Accelerating Low Carbon Innovation Programme Cohort Brochure
File Type: pdfFile size: 20.5MB
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Unlocking the value chain of shared electric two-wheelers in India

Helping to promote a shift towards shared micro-mobility, and highlighting the leading role which city governments can play by partnering with the private sector.

Connected Places Catapult has been funded by the UK Government via Innovate UK to support an Indian city to pilot and scale a shared electric micro-mobility (shared two wheel electric vehicle) solution and sustainable business model. 

Through this project we will collaborate with New Town, a planned satellite city within the Kolkata Metropolitan Area in West Bengal, and the New Town Kolkata Development Authority to design and deliver a pilot project which will demonstrate and refine a solution in partnership with the private sector. 

 

A greener approach to travel 

 Shared micro-mobility models are being adopted by cities across the world to shift trips to a greener mode of transport to help cities meet emissions reduction targets.  

A study in Paris estimated that shared e-bikes could reduce transport emissions in cities by 23 tonnes of CO2 in a month. In addition, these models offer the potential to improve both air quality and transport accessibility. 

In contrast to some private sector electric micro-mobility initiatives, the model we will develop will be designed to integrate with the city’s wider transport planning objectives. We will use a data-driven approach to ensure it serves the right areas of the city and target groups, and design the pilot to test and validate the operational and commercial model such that the solution can then be deployed at scale.  

The Catapult team along with locally based partners will focus on convening relevant stakeholders to help create solutions, and design a pilot scheme with a view to enabling it to be scaled up and be commercially self-sustaining. 

They will also look to design and implement a suitable means of data collection, and promote the innovative pilot to showcase its impact to the Indian government and its potential for deployment elsewhere. 

 

Contact the project team 

If you’d like to work with us or find out more, please email Roxana.Slavcheva@cp.catapult.org.uk or globalbusinessgrowth@cp.catapult.org.uk  

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Innovations sought to help National Highways on road to net zero

Applications to a National Highways competition seeking new approaches to reducing emissions associated with road construction and maintenance are now open.

Funding to develop innovative trials of net zero carbon approaches to road construction and maintenance will be offered to up to ten small to medium sized businesses in a competition launched today by National Highways and Connected Places Catapult.

Phase one of the National Highways Accelerating Low Carbon Innovation Programme will see winning UK based firms awarded between £15,000 and £30,000 each to develop feasibility studies in collaboration with the strategic road operator and its tier one suppliers.

Phase two will see further funding of up to £80,000 provided to support a selected number of organisations to trial their solutions.

Applicants are invited to put forward proposals that address at least one of three challenges:

  • Development or application of alternative materials and techniques;
  • Innovations that can improve asset management decision-making;
  • Innovations which can contribute to reusing, redeploying and recycling construction materials and assets.

There is also an open challenge category for other ideas that can contribute to National Highways’ target of zero emissions in maintenance and construction by 2040.

Up to five larger tier one organisations will also be selected to develop net zero solutions either on their own or in collaboration with an SME, but will not be eligible for funding as part of the programme.

Firms interested in putting themselves forward for the competition have until midnight on 30 April to enter.

The aim of the competition is to reach a wider pool of innovators, exploring firms with potential outside of National Highways’ existing supply chain, that promise to make a difference in lowering its carbon footprint.

“National Highways’ Accelerating Low Carbon Innovation Programme is open to companies of all sizes – from tier one firms developing solutions in-house or collaborating with SMEs, to smaller businesses who do not always get the chance to interface with large clients – to showcase their innovative ideas and see how they can be scaled up.”
Connected Places Catapult’s Executive Director for SME Development & Academic Engagement, Alex Weedon

The innovation accelerator seeks to take new materials and solutions described as being ‘low maturity’ and put them through a consistent, standardised process of prioritisation, feasibility and initial trialling, with the aim of assessing viability for wider testing and adoption.

Successful firms will be offered coaching and help with marketing strategy and investment support, as well as trial design training, deployment support, trial monitoring and evaluation. There will also be the chance to take part in a demonstration day for investors, industry and potential customers and ten months’ tailored business support.

“We want to speed up innovation within our sector and adopt new solutions. The innovation accelerator will help take potential solutions and drive them through the research and testing phases.”
National Highways Roads Development Director, Dr Joanna White
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Future of Air Mobility Accelerator 2022-23 Celebration Dinner

Celebrate the success of the 2022-23 Future of Air Mobility Accelerator! Meet with key stakeholders over dinner and talks.

When and where?

Farnborough International Ltd, ShowCentre, ETPS Road, Farnborough, Hampshire, GU14 6FD, UK
18th April 2023
3:30pm - 8:00pm

Tickets

This event is now complete

Connected Places Catapult is pleased to invite you to celebrate the success of the Future of Air Mobility Accelerator 2022-23!

This will be an opportunity to meet key stakeholders in this sector, including the 9 innovators in this year’s cohort, and learn about the programme as a tool for accelerating innovations to market. We will showcase the programme-sponsored trials the cohort have delivered and celebrate their development thanks to the commercial support provided.

This event will take place in partnership with the Sustainable Skies Summit, which is also taking place at Farnborough International Conference Centre from the 17-18th April.

We will be hosting networking drinks and a dinner on the 18th April. Seats are limited, if you would like to attend the dinner please register your interest as soon as possible and we will get back to you if you have been successful.

The SME’s will be exhibiting at the show for the full two days and by registering to attend the dinner you are automatically registered for the Sustainable Skies Summit and will have access to the full two day show and all it has to offer!

Come and network with the cohort, programme partners and other key players and investors in the Air Mobility sector and hear about how, by collaborating across the industry, we can test, validate and accelerate these technologies to market successfully.

About the programme
The Future of Air Mobility accelerator is a challenge-led, 6-month programme in partnership with the Future Flight Challenge from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). Alongside access to funding for trials and testbeds for demonstrations, the SMEs received mentorship and support from a consortium of experts, industry partners, academic institutions and regulatory bodies.

Our partners on this programme were Supernal, BAE Systems, GKN Aerospace and Heathrow; academic collaborators Cranfield University and Coventry University; and the UK Civil Aviation Authority and BSI.

Day 1
18th April
15:30
Networking drinks
16:45
Welcome from Connected Places Catapult
17:00
Dinner begins - Starters
17:45
Future of Air Mobility Programme Highlights
18:00
Dinner resumes - Main course
18:45
Keynote speaker
Furqan, Technical Authority - Advanced Air Mobility, GKN Aerospace
19:15
Dinner resumes - Dessert and networking
20:00
Event close
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Future of Air Mobility Insights

You are invited to the first interactive insights event for the Future of Air Mobility Accelerator where corporate, investment and technology leaders will come together to exchange value.

When and where?

1 Sekforde Street, Farringdon, London EC1R 0BE
15th March 2023
4:30pm - 7:00pm

Tickets

This event is now complete

Co-hosted by:

Sponsored by:

Connected Places Catapult and WeSprint invite you to a Future of Air Mobility insights event at the Urban Innovation Centre. Join us to hear industry insights from corporate, investor and technology leaders and to network with disruptive technologies in this space. We will have conversations around challenges within the sector with a focus on Future Airport & Vertiport Operations, Aviation Sustainability, Future Air & Space Traffic Management and Enabling End-to-End Mobility.

Who will attend?

At this event we expect a variety of stakeholders from the venture community to attend, including public, private and defence leaders from funds, fund of funds, venture studios, and technology providers, buyers and partners.

We will also be joined by representatives from the Future of Air Mobility Accelerator 2022-23 cohort who have been selected by a consortium of partners a cross industry, government, academia and regulation to test and scale new technologies, de-risking innovation in the marketplace.

We are pleased to welcome Supernal as the sponsor for this event. Supernal is Hyundai Motor Group’s Advanced Air Mobility company and are a valued industry partner on the Future of Air Mobility Accelerator programme.

We will also be joined by special guest Sanjeev Gordhan, General Partner at Type One Ventures

Please apply to attend and we will get back to you shortly if you have secured a spot! If you have any questions please contact natasha.giroux@cp.catapult.org.uk 

Agenda

Day 1
15th March
16:30
Arrivals and registration
17:00
Welcome from our sponsor Supernal
17:10
Key note insights
17:30
Panel Discussion
Chair: Arnold du Toit, WeSprint

Amy Camp, Innovation Lead, UKRI
Chase Lookofsky, Investment Manager, Supernal

18:00
Structured networking
18:30
Networking drinks

Meet the SMEs

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MK Accelerator Cohort Booklet

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Zero-Emission Road Freight – What’s next?

Connected Places Catapult is working alongside Government, industry and academia to help accelerate the transition to zero-emission road freight. It’s been 18 months since we published our ‘Pathway for Long-Haul Heavy Goods Vehicles’ report. So, what has happened since, and what’s next?

The scale of the challenge is clear. Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) are vital to industry and represent the backbone of trade and commerce worldwide. They are responsible for ensuring we have access to food, medicines, and goods of all kinds. 89% of domestic goods transported in the UK in 2020 were moved by road – the vast majority of which in HGVs. However, these vehicles produced 16% of UK domestic transport greenhouse gas emissions in 2019, and this needs to be reduced to zero by 2050.

The Pathway to Long Haul HGVs report was, itself, a culmination of extensive research and stakeholder consultation. Connected Places Catapult investigated the promising technologies for zero-emission road freight and started to build the business case for large scale trials and wider deployment. We consulted widely on state of the art and barriers to deployment.

Potential pathways to zero or low emission HGVs, produced by Professor Neville Jackson on behalf of Connected Places Catapult.

Within the Pathway document, we set out actions that we felt would enable the transition, which included:

  • Setting a clear vision
  • Funding and de-risking the transition
  • Developing trust in the technology
  • Deploying initial infrastructure
  • Progressing regulations and standards
  • Building the UK supply chain
  • Enabling a sustainable market

The key recommendation was to gather evidence and mature the technologies through large-scale demonstrations operating in real-world conditions in the UK.

The Catapult’s business case work helped to secure £20m of funding to accelerate the rollout of zero-emission road freight, and following the publication of our study in March 2021, Innovate UK launched the Zero Emission Road Freight competitions, covering areas such as hydrogen fuel cells, electric road systems, supply chain technology, battery electric HGVs and supply chain technologies. The winners of these competitions were published in August 2021.

This funding enabled industry partners, such as vehicle manufacturers, infrastructure providers and technology companies, to come together with local authority representatives, freight operators and academics to develop detailed plans for the rollout of large-scale trials. The Catapult has been at the heart of these conversations, which have included representatives from the Department for Transport, Innovate UK, National Highways, National Grid, the Zemo Partnership, Logistics UK, the Road Haulage Association, and many others.

Further good news arrived earlier this year, as it was confirmed that major funding has been secured to deploy the significant infrastructure and large number of vehicles needed for successful trialling of zero-emission HGVS, in a real-world commercial context in the UK. Again, the Catapult’s technical and cost modelling inputs contributed to this funding award.

In addition, the Catapult has produced a suite of outputs to help inform partners and build robust foundations for the trials. The Catapult’s focus areas have included trial data strategy, export potential, safety and regulations, standards and market operations. This has included publication of the following reports which are available to download.

ZERFT Phase 1 – Standards landscape and gap analysis – January 2022
File Type: pdfFile size: 4.7MB

The purpose of this report is to document findings from a review of global standards and provide recommendations on a standardisation programme that would enable safe and effective roll out of Zero Emission Road Freight Trials and establishment of a longer-term sustainable market.

ZERFT Phase 1 – Market opportunity mapping – March 2022
File Type: pdfFile size: 2.4MB

The purpose of this report is to examine the UK’s export opportunity in three emerging zero-emission HGV technologies: Hydrogen Fuel Cells, Battery Electric Vehicles, and Electric Road Systems.

ZERFT Phase 1 – Regulation and safety roadmap – March 2022
File Type: pdfFile size: 17.9MB

The purpose of this report is to set out the safety activities that are required for safe on-road Zero Emission Road Freight Trials.

ZERFT Phase 1 – Summary of Concept Safety Analysis – March 2022
File Type: pdfFile size: 17.6MB

The purpose of this report is to set out findings from a review of the hazard landscape and key safety considerations for the proposed Zero Emission Road Freight Trials.

ZERFT Phase 1 – Data objectives and data stakeholder mapping – March 2022
File Type: pdfFile size: 2.0MB

The purpose of this report is to identify what data needs to be collected from trials for evaluation purposes, to outline necessary data collection methods and to identify key stakeholders that would need to engage with this data collection approach.

ZERFT Phase 1 – Comparison of Transport Decarbonisation projects – March 2022
File Type: pdfFile size: 4.9MB

The purpose of this report is to explore Connected Places Catapult decarbonisation projects across road, rail, maritime and aviation. To consider potential alignment, pre-empt interoperability challenges, highlight operational and implementation synergies and accelerate industry learning.

What’s Next?

Now that funding has been secured and foundations have been laid, the next step is to progress with the design of the demonstrator projects, and consider how such demonstrations can progress to wide-scale commercial deployments of the right infrastructure and vehicles to meet the needs of freight operators.

Meanwhile, the Catapult will be undertaking work on a host of enabling actions, as per the recommendations detailed within reports, to ensure technology can be deployed in a safe and secure manner. This will include investigations into standards, regulations, safety and security and UK export potential. If you would like to be involved in these discussions, please send an email to zeroemissionroadfreight@cp.catapult.org.uk.

Connected Places Catapult is looking forward to continuing on this exciting journey towards a cleaner future!