£500k innovation grant awarded to CFCM and Quattro group from the office for low emission vehicles for an electric road sweeper.
It was announced on 24th August that the Centre for Future Clean Mobility (CFCM) will work again with long-term partner Quattro Group Ltd. We’re pleased to announce that CFCM and Quattro Group’s £499k bid into the “Catalysing Green Innovation” competition was successful. The project will be funded by the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) and delivered through Innovate UK. The University of Exeter’s CFCM will work on the design and optimisation of the electric and hybrid powertrains for a 16-tonne road sweeper.
While the switch over to electric-drive private road cars continues to accelerate, the next generation of electrification will take place in other vehicles on our roads, rails, and rivers, such as work vehicles on construction sites and infrastructures, boats and ships, defence vehicles etc. In future, cities and large infrastructure projects may insist on zero emission vehicles (ZEVs). Many regional and city governments (e.g. London, Glasgow, Manchester and Birmingham) are already working towards “Zero Carbon Fleets” in the short-medium term. Of course, this includes zero-emission road sweepers, cleaning the roads and streets in and around our towns and cities.
The market for electric road sweepers is small but growing, with a small number of heavy 16-tonne options and only a handful of smaller ‘precinct’ sweepers. However, this new partnership between CFCM and Quattro Group aims to create a state-of-the-art zero emission sweeper, capable of a full shift, using electric power for propulsion and sweeping systems.
Mr John Murphy, Managing Director of Quattro Group says, “Quattro Group plans to build on its already strong collaboration with Prof Smith at CFCM, to develop a new zero-emission heavy sweeper. Quattro is excited by this project and the opportunity to install leading clean powertrains for all its vehicles. Additionally, Quattro recently appointed Prof Smith as its Chief Technology Advisor.”
Prof Chris Smith, Director of the CFCM, says “We are very excited to get started on this project with Quattro, since we’re committed to supporting the Government in ending the sale of petrol and diesel cars and vans, and since we work so well with the guys at Quattro in our other projects. This will grow the number of R&D staff working at their Liverton centre on clean mobility to six personnel. As well as bringing innovation and jobs to the South West, this project will also address the government’s ambition for the UK to be at the forefront of the design and manufacturing of zero-emission vehicles.”