Region's innovators win funding

April 14th 2022

The Heartland region is at the forefront of developing tomorrow's mobility solutions.

So we're delighted that pioneers in our region, developing new ways of creating a more efficient transport system, have been backed by government funding announced yesterday.

In total, 51 projects across the UK have been awarded a share of £1.95 million in Department for Transport (DfT) funding as part of the government’s Transport Research and Innovation Grant (TRIG) programme.

These include:

Flit in Cambridge which is developing a micro mobility (mainly e-bikes and electric scooters) battery that is easy to disassemble for reuse, remanufacturing, or recycling. By removing welding from the manufacturing process, this project will allow for more local manufacturing and easier repair and remanufacturing.

Mole Solutions near Kettering for the development of a control module for intermodal operations on an innovative Underground Freight Transport system (UFT).  UFT is an emerging innovative concept using the sub surface to mode shift freight from road-based HGV to electrically powered capsules travelling autonomously on rail tracks in low-cost tunnels.

Department of Engineering at the University of Cambridge whose project aims to develop and test a novel, low-cost, and lightweight active rear-steering system, Brake-Actuated Steering, to improve the manoeuvrability of a wide range of Heavy Goods Vehicles. The manoeuvrability improvements will unlock the use of higher capacity vehicles in many urban and rural areas, improving efficiency, and reducing emissions and operating costs.