The Scottish Government is providing £28 million across the next four years to accelerate the manufacturing and deployment of heavy duty zero emission vehicles.
The Zero Emission Mobility Innovation Fund is delivered in partnership with Scottish Enterprise and links to other national funding programmes for manufacturing and supports Scotland’s Mission Zero for transport.
The new Fund has been developed in consultation with industry leaders through Scotland’s Zero Emission Mobility Industry Advisory Group. This new funding approach responds to their call for innovative funding models to drive net zero transformation across Scotland’s heavy duty vehicle supply chains.
The latest report by the advisory group, outlining how Scotland can become a global player in zero emission transport, has also been published.
The new vision statement by the Zero Emission Mobility Industry Advisory Group and the £28 million Innovation Fund, was formally launched by the Scottish Government Transport Minister Jenny Gilruth, at the Scottish Zero Emission Mobility Manufacturing Conference, hosted today at Michelin Scotland Innovation Parc (MSIP) in Dundee, marking the second anniversary of the inception of the Innovation Parc.
Minister for Transport Jenny Gilruth said: “I’m pleased to welcome our new £28 million Zero Emission Mobility Innovation Fund (ZEMIF) as part of our Mission Zero for Transport. Responding directly to calls from the industry leaders, this funding will help position Scotland at the forefront of zero emission heavy duty vehicle manufacturing.
“Businesses will also be able to benefit from the many clusters of innovation that the Scottish Government has also invested to develop, such as the exciting Michelin Scotland Innovation Parc, the LOCATE drive train test facility, the Eden Centre at the University of St Andrews and the Driving the Electric Revolution Scotland Industrialisation Centre.
“Through innovative collaborations between industry, academia and government, exciting spaces to test new ideas and the new ZEMIF fund – Scotland is fast becoming a global destination as part of the green transport revolution.”
Derek Shaw, Scottish Enterprise Director of Innovation and Place said: “The decarbonisation of heavy duty vehicles is a key area of focus for Scottish Enterprise as we work to encourage collaboration, investment and innovation across the sustainable transport ecosystem, from Scottish transport manufacturers, to the supply chain, as well as, across government and academia.
“Transport is Scotland’s largest greenhouse gas emitting sector and the innovation fund aims to drive net zero transport transformation and encourage Scotland’s heavy duty vehicle supply chain businesses to embrace economic opportunities.
“It is an opportunity for Scotland to showcase its strengths in this area with hubs such as the Michelin Scotland Innovation Parc to companies such as Alexander Dennis and Emergency One already highlighting how Scotland can take the right route to sustainable mobility through zero emission heavy duty vehicles.
“We want to see more businesses get on board and use the innovation fund as the catalyst to create solutions that lead to a net zero economy.”
Colin McIlraith, Chief Operating Officer, Michelin Scotland Innovation Parc said: “We know from working directly with industry that a shift towards net zero for our transport sector will only be possible with government support. Today’s announcement of the Zero Emission Mobility Innovation Fund is a huge step in supporting that. It will enable forward thinking innovative companies to bring about real change.
“I’m pleased MSIP could be a part of this by hosting today’s event, on what is the second anniversary of MSIP’s inception. As Scotland’s home for sustainable mobility, I can’t think of a better place to launch this new innovation fund.”
Ben Todd from Ballard Motive Solutions, co-chair of the Zero Emission Mobility Industry Advisory Group said: “The Zero Emission Mobility Industry Advisory Group welcomes the creation and launch of the new innovation fund. The Fund emerged as a key priority from our stakeholder engagement and supports Transport Scotland’s Mission Zero aim of decarbonising transport while delivering a Just Transition.
“It will provide focused support for innovators to scale up their manufacturing capability in Scotland as well as support for the development and testing of new technologies with a particular focus on batteries, fuel cells and zero emission heavy duty vehicles.”
