Protean Electric’s PULSE project has secured a £5.5m (US$7.3m) Collaborative Research and Development grant from the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC).
The funding was announced by Sarah Jones, minister of state at both the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, and the Department for Business and Trade, during a tour of Protean’s Farnham HQ.
PULSE (Power electronics Upscale for Localisation and Sustainable Electrification), led by Protean, in conjunction with Unipart Manufacturing and other consortium members, will deliver a production pilot line for power electronics systems used by IWM (in-wheel motors) and other net zero products.
Jones said, “Labour is committed to boosting the jewel in the crown of our manufacturing base – the automotive industry. Working in partnership with industry, this fund will drive innovation and propel the development of next generation zero-emission vehicle technologies.”
Andrew Whitehead, chief executive officer of Protean Electric, said, “We are thrilled that project PULSE has been selected by the APC and the new government, as it supports Protean to continue to lead electric vehicle innovation from our UK development center.”
The PULSE consortium draws on other UK-based engineering and innovation partners. Unipart, with its manufacturing expertise, will create a flexible assembly line that can build a mixture of inverters and converters, including Viritech’s advanced DC/DC 800V converter. The collaboration also builds on sensor technology from Transense and recycling processes from Hypromag.
The consortium aims to improve efficiency and sustainability through industrializing research from Coventry University and the Warwick Manufacturing Group.