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£2.5m package of awards announced for transport technologies

Posted: 6 December 2016 | | No comments yet

The UK government has announced a £2.5 million package of awards for the development of transport technologies to make travelling safer, quicker and more reliable.

£2.5m package of awards announced for transport technologies

The UK government has announced a £2.5 million package of awards for the development of transport technologies to make travelling safer, quicker and more reliable.

£2.5m package of awards announced for transport technologies

The government has announced a £2.5 million investment towards transport innovation grants open to companies, individuals and academics. It is hoped the funding will help to reduce barriers to innovation and advance technology in transport.

The investment includes:

  • 33 Transport Technology Research Innovation Grants (T-TRIG) worth a total of £833,000 awarded to early-stage science, engineering or technology innovations
  • a further round of competition for T-TRIG awards worth approximately £700,000 opened today
  • a new Innovation Challenge Fund (worth approximately £1 million) to invest in development of promising technology ideas

Commenting on the investment grants, Transport Minister John Hayes said: “This government is committed to delivering a much better transport system, and innovation is a vital part of that.

“We are already making headway and expect to see more smart ideas and technologies coming from this funding.

“Through these schemes, small businesses and academics gain access to much needed financial support allowing them to explore new ideas and move innovations on to the next stage of development.”

The winners of the July 2016 T-TRIG scheme have each been awarded around £25,000 each to provide innovative transport solutions which improve safety, improve customer experience, or increase efficiency. Successful projects from this round include:

  • development of thermally conductive concrete slabs so that train station platforms can automatically de-ice themselves, thereby reducing accidents
  • a smart country road reporting system, which uses sensors to collect real-time data to monitor the environment, road temperature and traffic flow
  • a solar powered eBike charging solution to offer more sustainable travel choices

The bidding process is opens to entrants from 12 December 2016.