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Connected and autonomous vehicles: apply for business funding

Innovative businesses could win a share of up to £35 million to research and develop new connected and autonomous vehicle technologies.

Innovative businesses could win a share of up to £35 million to research and develop new connected and autonomous vehicle technologies.

The Centre for Connected & Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV) and Innovate UK are inviting businesses to apply for innovation project funding of up to £35 million.

Projects need to come up with technical solutions for connected and autonomous vehicle features. These features should provide real-world benefits to users. This includes how these vehicles will work as part of a wider transport system. Proposals must show a clear commercial benefit.

Funding for this competition comes from CCAV (up to £30 million) and Innovate UK (£5 million).

The Centre for Connected & Autonomous Vehicles is a joint policy unit. It was set up by the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy and the Department for Transport. The aim of CCAV is to help ensure that the UK is a world leader in developing and testing connected and autonomous vehicles.

This competition is in 4 streams:

Stream 1

Stream 1 will fund a large-scale challenge to develop and demonstrate a vehicle operating at SAE level 4 automation. We expect to fund 1 or 2 projects. We expect projects to have total costs of £15 million to £30 million. Projects should last between 18 and 30 months.

Streams 2, 3 and 4

These streams will fund feasibility studies and industrial research and development projects. We expect projects to range in size from total costs of £250,000 to £5 million. Projects should last between 12 and 30 months.

Competition information

  • This competition opens on 22 August 2016
  • The registration deadline is noon on 2 November 2016
  • The application deadline is noon on 9 November 2016
  • All projects must be collaborative and a business must lead the project
  • Potential applicants can attend a briefing event in London on 8 September 2016

Updates to this page

Published 12 August 2016