Seven UK-based automotive businesses that have won funding from Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation experts, are heading to Japan to exhibit low carbon technology at the prestigious Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan (JSAE) Engineering Conference 2015.
The conference annually hosts key players in the next generation of automotive design and production. High on the agenda is low carbon technology, in which the UK is becoming a global leader.
British-based firms Advanced Innovative Engineering (AIE), Artemis Intelligent Power, MIRA, Nissan Technical Centre Europe, Productiv, Romax Technology and the Manufacturing Technology Centre have all developed cutting-edge low carbon vehicle technologies through collaborative projects supported by Innovate UK. They will present to a world-leading international audience of investors and engineers in one of the world’s leading automotive markets and production hubs.
All the companies have developed products and services in line with the UK’s automotive technology roadmaps, developed by industry-government collaboration at the Automotive Council. Using these roadmaps, UK companies and supporting agencies such as Innovate UK are focusing their efforts on creating the right environment for companies to collaborate and innovate, which is building the experience and capabilities for future UK success and economic growth.
JSAE is the largest automotive technology conference in Asia for automotive engineers, attracting 70,000 visitors over three days. The Exposition is “technology-centred”, with as many as 400 Japanese and foreign companies displaying the latest designs every year. The UK presence at the exhibition includes a UK dedicated stand, in addition to hosting an afternoon of technical presentations.
Paul Gadd, Programme Manager for Low Carbon Vehicles Innovation Platform at Innovate UK says: “Having such a strong UK presence shows the real strength of UK technical capability in the low carbon vehicle area, and the demand for this capability in the global market. The attendance of Innovate UK with these companies is symptomatic of the exciting success of Low Carbon Vehicle innovation and leadership in the UK.”
“We are delighted to be attending JSAE 2015 and look forward to showcasing an example of our activities in the area of low carbon vehicle technology alongside Innovate UK. It promises to be a fantastic event and we’re proud to be representing the UK automotive industry with other forward-thinking British companies,” said Dave Moss, Vice President, Vehicle Design & Development, Nissan Technical Centre Europe.
“We’re really pleased to be visiting JSAE 2015 where we will be debuting a demonstrator and presenting a paper for the Hydrogen for Long Range Electric Vehicle (LREV) project,” said Ben Reynolds, Commercial Manger, Asia Pacific at MIRA. “Co-funded by Innovate UK, this collaborative project features the world’s first automotive application of hydrogen produced on-demand from stabilised ammonia borane. This advanced technology minimises the on-vehicle quantity of gaseous hydrogen, allowing simple, low cost distribution without requiring a high pressure hydrogen infrastructure. It promises to be a fantastic event and we are looking forward to coming home with some superb new contacts and business leads.”
Innovate UK is the UK’s innovation agency, accelerating economic growth. Innovate UK fund, support and connect innovative businesses through a unique mix of people and programmes to accelerate sustainable economic growth.
The Low Carbon Vehicle Innovation Platform contribute to the growth of the UK automotive sector & ongoing reduction of the UK’s road transport CO2 by accelerating the introduction of vehicle-centric technologies. This is achieved through collaborative R&D funding supporting over £500m of investment, and building relationships within UK business.
