Business Secretary Lord Mandelson has today announced the creation of a Low Carbon Economic Area for Advanced Automotive Engineering in the Midlands.
The world leading automotive innovation, research and technological expertise located across the Midlands will be harnessed to establish a market lead in the global development and production of low carbon vehicles.
The status will act as a signpost to companies around the world that the world class businesses, research and technology organisations based in the Midlands are the first people to visit to develop and produce low carbon vehicles and related technologies.
Through the LCEA, regional development agencies Advantage West Midlands and East Midlands Development Agency (emda) will deliver a programme of projects, partnering with industry and universities, developing low carbon solutions for key technologies such as, motors and aerodynamics.
Advantage West Midlands is investing £19.5million in a new Low Carbon Vehicles Technology (LCVT) programme which will accelerate the development and introduction of next generation low carbon vehicles through advances in key technology platforms in areas such as batteries, motors and aerodynamics. Advantage West Midlands is investing £10million and co-ordinating the investment of £9.5million from the European Regional Development Fund.
Visiting the International Manufacturing Centre at the University of Warwick to launch the LCEA, Lord Mandelson said: “I want to see the Midlands help the UK to lead the global automotive industry in the transition from conventional to low carbon vehicle technologies.
"The LCEA will send a clear signal to the global market about the Midlands’ strengths in advanced automotive engineering.
“The move towards a low carbon economy presents huge opportunities. This new funding will help secure the Midlands’ 10,000 existing car industry jobs, by helping transform them into the green car jobs of the future.”
Partners in the LCVTP include Jaguar Land Rover, Tata Motors, Zytek, Ricardo, MIRA, WMG at the University of Warwick, and Coventry University. The project will also involve UK suppliers.
Independent research on the LCVTP alone estimates it will create between 3,000 and 11,500 jobs in the UK by 2020, with the majority of those being in the West Midlands. At the same time, it will safeguard jobs in the supply chain as businesses switch to low carbon opportunities. Research estimates wealth creation of between £690m and £2.8bn.
Mick Laverty, Chief Executive at Advantage West Midlands, said: “This is great news and reflects the real strengths of the West and East Midlands regions in automotive manufacturing. Becoming a Low Carbon Economic Area will reinforce our growing reputation as globally competitive regions, which continue to develop cutting-edge green technologies and high technology industries upon which the future prosperity of all UK regions will depend.
“This latest announcement follows Advantage West Midlands’s central role in coordinating a successful bid to the new European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), which will see a unique consortium of six European regions, including the West Midlands, five of Europe’s top universities and ten major companies deliver Europe’s trail-blazer on climate change – the €750million Knowledge and Innovation Community, known as ‘Climate KIC’.
“That success is further testament to our growing reputation for promoting innovation and excellence in the emerging low-carbon and green technologies and helping the region to become a centre of excellence.
“It is now more important than ever that we continue to make every pound count and achieve maximum impact through our strategic interventions.”
This latest investment means Advantage West Midlands and emda have now committed a combined £50million to low carbon vehicles initiatives as part of a wider programme to drive low carbon innovation in the automotive engineering and transport equipment markets.
The wider Midlands programme of projects is being undertaken in collaboration with leading automotive businesses such as Toyota, LTI, Mitsubishi, Microcab, Smart plus, EON, MIRA, JLR and Tata. Leading universities including Aston, Birmingham, Loughborough, Warwick and Coventry are also major partners alongside the Technology Strategy Board, and other regional development agencies.
Advantage West Midlands has already invested more than £22million in a range of low carbon vehicles projects, including: a pioneering intelligent transport systems test facility (innovITS ADVANCE); vehicle lightweight technologies; the national ultra low carbon vehicle trial (known in the West Midlands as CABLED); niche vehicle research and development; and vehicle customer interface technologies.
Total private sector investment across nearly all these initiatives matches or exceeds that committed by the regional development agencies.
Ian Austin, Regional Minister for the West Midlands, said: “Advanced automotive engineering and low carbon technologies are extremely important to the future prosperity of the Midlands’ and UK economy. Today’s announcement is fantastic news for the two Midlands regions and will provide a huge boost to the competitiveness and innovation of our companies, large and small, and to the new industries and new jobs on which the regions’ future prosperity depends.
“A skilled workforce is the essential foundation for the kind of dynamic, knowledge-led economy we need if the region is to make the most of this opportunity. The National Skills Strategy shows the Government is committed to creating the conditions in which British businesses can compete and prosper. To take just one example, advanced manufacturing, with its heartland in the West Midlands, is one of the UK’s biggest exports and is central both to our recovery from recession and to our future success.
“That is why we are committed to ensuring that we equip businesses and their workforce with the capabilities and skills to take advantage of opportunities in the new growth areas such as advanced manufacturing and low-carbon technologies.”
Bryan Jackson, Chairman of East Midlands Development Agency (emda), which takes the lead role for manufacturing on behalf of England's RDAs, said: “Automotive manufacturing is vitally important to the Midlands’ economy and this announcement is fantastic news. The East and West Midlands share a rich industrial heritage and through the Low Carbon Economic Area, we will continue to nurture the innovation of our companies to ensure that we prosper in a new global low carbon economy.
“It means that our automotive businesses will be able to access world class facilities and the expertise of our excellent universities leading to the development of new low carbon transport technologies. In the East Midlands, the Low Carbon Economic Area will link with the work that we are already doing through our unique transport innovation network (iNet) which is driving forward innovations in the transport equipment market.”
Minister for the East Midlands, Phil Hope MP, said: “Establishing the region as a Low Carbon Economic Area will further strengthen the Midlands’ role at the heart of the UK’s automotive engineering sector.
“By providing the environment for businesses in this sector to develop and implement new, low-carbon ideas, we will ensure that Midlands-based companies remain at the cutting edge of new technologies, creating skilled, green jobs and bringing additional wealth to the region.”
WMG's research teams will be working on a range of low carbon automotive manufacturing technologies including hybrid vehicle architecture, intelligent vehicles, lightweight vehicles construction (including advanced aluminium welding and aluminium weld analysis) and clean manufacturing.
Professor Lord Kumar Bhattacharyya KB CBE, Director and Founder of WMG (Warwick Manufacturing Group), said: “The car industry is facing huge challenges over the next decade. From emissions, the environment to safety engineering, a new generation of hi-tech but low carbon cars will be required. Today’s announcement is a crucial and most welcome government investment in low carbon automotive engineering which will help companies meet these global needs and provide them with new opportunities to grow as the world emerges from recession.
“The Midlands has a substantial, highly sophisticated, and advanced automotive industry and supply chain. This investment will bring researchers and manufacturers together to ensure that that industry and supply chain not only prospers but plays a leading role in building our low carbon future.”
Jaguar Land Rover head of research, Tony Harper, said: "Environmental innovation is a keystone of Jaguar Land Rover's business philosophy. Jaguar Land Rover is investing hundreds of millions into technology research, development and innovation to reduce CO2 and emissions as well as our use of natural resources.
"But we are also clear that sustainability can only be achieved by private and public sector partnerships, which is why the AWM's new Low Carbon Vehicle Technology programme is such good news."