The Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) is supporting 15 SMEs with low-carbon technology in the latest wave of the Technology Developer Accelerator Programme (TDAP). APC will invest US$1.39m (£1.1m) over the next 18 months to fund the development of new technologies, without taking any stake in the business or intellectual property.
These SMEs are all working on low-carbon technologies – including new battery management techniques, fuel cells and printed power electronics, to give just a few examples. TDAP is helping to accelerate the decarbonization of roads by working with existing automotive organizations and facilitating cross-sector technology transfer from other industries.
TDAP manager for the APC Josh Denne said, “We need a range of technologies to decarbonize vehicles from passenger to heavy duty and beyond. The variety of technology coming through this program reflects the change in the industry.
“There is no silver bullet for decarbonizing the transport sector; being technology agnostic at the APC allows us to be reactive and work with some revolutionary new technology and organizations. We are looking forward to being part of their journeys.”
One of the successful applicants, Dr Zlatka Stoeva, MD of DZP Technologies, commented, “We look forward to working with the APC to understand better the value of our technology for the automotive sector. The technical and business landscape can be complex for a small company to embrace quickly, and many opportunities may be missed. We hope that the TDAP project will help us to create new partnerships to bring our technology to market, and identify new growth opportunities for our company.”
TDAP is designed to help developers with early-stage technologies by providing business planning and grant funding available of up to US$132,300 (£104,000). It could also help open new routes to market, from making introductions to OEMs and funding agencies.
The format of the program reflects the risk involved in developing cutting-edge technologies. As these new technologies and business plans are tested, not all of the organizations will reach the end of the 18-month program.
However, TDAP has proven its success over the last three cycles with impressive results from the participating SMEs. On average, organizations who completed the program in 2018 increased their average headcount by 27% over the 18-month project and accelerated their time to market by more than 12 months.
