APC Opens £2.5bn DRIVE35 Funding Competition

Summary: The Advanced Propulsion Centre UK has announced new grant funding streams under the government’s £2.5 billion DRIVE35 programme to support zero-emission vehicle innovation and manufacturing scale-up. With funding available across streams such as Mobilise, Demonstrate, Collaborate, and Scale-up Feasibility Studies, the initiative targets SMEs, academic consortia, and large manufacturers working on technologies including automotive software, electric architectures, and connected and automated mobility. Expressions of interest are also open for the enhanced Automotive Transformation Fund.

Auto Tech View:

• DRIVE35 supports the full innovation journey, from R&D to industrial-scale production, across EV systems, automotive software, and manufacturing competitiveness.

• Aligns with industry priorities such as vehicle electrification, SDV architectures, connected mobility, and domestic supply chain resilience.

• Engineers and project leads benefit from targeted, scalable funding options for technology validation, demonstrator builds, and production planning — including up to £25 million for collaborative projects and rapid-access feasibility grants.

The Advanced Propulsion Centre UK (APC) will continue to support the automotive industry by facilitating the latest government grant-funding announced.

Following the launch of DRIVE35 (Driving Research and Investment in Vehicle Electrification), the new Department for Business and Trade-led programme is aimed at transforming the UK’s automotive sector.

With over £2 billion available over five years, and a further £500 million for R&D to 2035, it will support research and development as well as the commercial scale-up of innovative zero-emission vehicle technologies.

On the DRIVE35 funding journey, the APC will offer several specialised government grants within the three main priorities, each with specific aims and eligibility.

The competition processes will open at regular intervals throughout the year, accessed through the APC and via the Innovate UK Innovation Funding Service (IFS).

The grants that are opening for applications today are: Collaborate, Demonstrate, and Scale-up Feasibility Studies, as well as expressions of interest for the new and improved Automotive Transformation Fund (ATF).

The APC is taking enquiries now to help companies prepare a project pitch and align it with the most suitable funding stream available through the DRIVE35 initiative. In full they are:

Supporting Innovation

Three funding streams are available, providing targeted funding and support at each step of the innovation journey:

Mobilise is an SME accelerator programme. Applicants receive up to £180,000 in grant-funding from DRIVE35, the Centre for Connected and Automated Vehicles’ (CCAV) CAM Pathfinder programme, and enjoy tailor-made business support from our in-house team.

Eligible for zero-emission vehicle-related technology innovations as well as connected and automated mobility (CAM) and automotive software.

Demonstrate Grants are for companies that are earlier in their product or process development or need a short, sharp sprint to get where they want to be.

This enables companies to build a product or process demonstrator in under 12 months, and to have something tangible at the end to take to customers.

Demonstrate Grant funding is available up to £1.5 million, match-funded, for single entities or companies who want to form a group.

Collaborate Grants fund projects where companies, and academic institutions, form a consortium to take a product or process to commercial readiness.

Successful applicants can receive up to £25 million to support the design, development, manufacturing, and delivery of strategic zero-emission vehicle technologies.

Both these opportunities, Demonstrate and Collaborate, are open for applications twice a year.

For the first time, the scope also includes automotive software and electrical and electronic architectures and manufacturing competitiveness.

These are open now – visit the APC website to find out how to apply

Accelerating Scale-up

New Scale-up Feasibility Studies will enable successful applicants to commercially validate the future growth and investment potential of their innovative technology.

Companies can apply for funding to deliver a feasibility study to assess the planning, investment  and business case for manufacturing projects, this can be across pilot scale, demonstration scale, full industrial scale facilities, or working with customers to evaluate product performance.

Once the technology has been validated, applicants can apply for the next stage of funding.

The Scale-up Fund is available to enable rapid growth and commercialisation. As soon as the funding is secured, a grant guarantee is issued to leverage external investment to generate additional cash-flow to enable faster scale-up.

Feasibility Studies are open for applications now

On welcoming the Advanced Manufacturing Sector plan APC and Zenzic CEO Ian Constance said,

“This will not only bolster our economy but also address pressing environmental challenges, add resilience to critical supply chains, and support international trade and investment. We are excited about the opportunities this plan presents to position the UK as a global leader in advanced manufacturing and look forward to playing an integral role in delivering the Driving Research and Investment in Vehicle Electrification (DRIVE35) and CAM Pathfinder programmes.”

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