Green innovators to bid for £300m challenge fund

£300m will be spent developing greener forms of transport such as electric passenger planes and flying ‘urban taxis’, the government has announced.

The government will provide £125m of ‘The Future of Flight Challenge’ fund, which will be supported by industry co-investment of up to £175m and delivered by UK Research and Innovation.

Industry will initially focus on smaller aircraft and drones to ensure the suitability of the new technologies before developing them for larger passenger aircraft.

Alongside this, five new transport research networks will receive a £5m cash injection for their work developing cleaner forms of fuel and other tech innovations to reduce emissions and improve air quality.

The new transport research networks will be led by: the University of Birmingham, the University of Leeds, the University of Durham, Cardiff University and University College London.

This funding has been awarded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: ‘From our shopping choices to planning our holidays, we rightly want to make decisions that protect the planet.

‘This £300m investment will help speed up the development of greener flights, and new ways of delivering the goods we order online.

‘The UK is already recognised around the world as a centre for green tech. Now we will lengthen our lead, supporting our industry and our citizens to reduce their carbon footprint.’

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