University awarded funding for driverless vehicles

THE University of Warwick has been awarded £4.25 million of funding for a battery research project to power electric cars, and for driverless vehicles.

The announcement was made by Business, Energy and Industrial Secretary Greg Clark Transport Minister John Hayes, as part of a range of funding for the university’s Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG).

The first project is led by BMW Group, to design and develop power dense batteries in the UK, one of the key steps needed for the widespread adoption of electric vehicles.

WMG has received a grant of £3.8 million for its part in the project, which will bring together BMW, WMG and Delta Motorsport.

Prof Dave Greenwood, from WMG, said: “This research collaboration will utilise WMG’s electrochemical materials and engineering expertise, and use WMG’s world-class battery testing and validation facilities, for understanding optimal power density in application of Li-ion battery cells, modules and packs.”

The second project is Connected and Autonomous POD on-Road Implementation (CAPRI), a consortium, which has secured of funding from Innovate UK and the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV), which are also known as driverless vehicles.

The on-road mobility service pilot project includes the design, development and testing of new autonomous and connected PODs, culminating in on-road trials at London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. WMG will receive £450,000 for its work in the project.

Prof Carsen Maple, from WMG, said: “We will be addressing the Cyber-physical security of the PODs.

“We will undertake threat modelling, considering all of the possible attackers and methods for remote and local, physical and cyber-attacks. Using this modelling we will undertake risk analysis and management to secure the vehicles.”