EEDA - East of England Development Agency

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Low carbon vehicles

The East of England is at the cutting edge of UK innovation in low carbon vehicles.

We are proud to have world-class research and development located here, with the likes of Ford, Caterpillar, General Motors, Lotus and Nissan all having put down roots in the region. We are also home to Millbrook Proving Ground, Europe’s premier test and development centre.

Adding to the region’s corporate research and development, the East of England has academic and research excellence in low carbon vehicles. The Universities of Cambridge, Cranfield, East Anglia and Hertfordshire provide high-calibre academic credentials and are supported by world-class research at Norwich Research Park, Rothamsted Research and TWI Ltd. The region is also home to a wide range of low carbon investors, knowledge-based high-tech SMEs and technology consultancies.

Recognising these capabilities, EEDA facilitated a Low Carbon Vehicle Workshop at Hethel Engineering Centre on 21 July 2009, including Panel representation from Ford, General Motors, Lotus and Nissan. It brought together key stakeholders from across the region to:

• identify key regional low carbon vehicle capabilities in both advanced biofuels and vehicle design, especially systems integration, hi-tech electronics, powertrain optimisation, lightweighting and aerodynamics
• discuss and determine a new East of England Low Carbon Vehicle Innovation Programme. A Programme concept is now being developed to build upon the region’s low carbon vehicle capabilities, leverage funding, maximise regional economic benefit and complement other UK regional activity.  

Click here for the presentations given at the Low Carbon Vehicle Workshop and a summary of the outputs achieved.

EEDA funded business support

• Hethel Engineering Centre (HEC) - EEDA’s Enterprise Hub for Advanced Engineering and Manufacturing.  HEC hosts a number of low carbon vehicle entrepreneurs, start-ups and SMEs, as well as benefiting from its close proximity and excellent relationship with Lotus
• Biofuels East - EEDA’s virtual Advanced Biofuels Hub is operated by Renewables East to foster collaboration between academia and industry to accelerate the development of advanced biofuel technologies.

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