Event review: Cenex Low Carbon Vehicle (LCV) Event 2016 Preview
The Cenex LCV 2016 event, taking place from 14th to 15th September at Millbrook Proving Ground, is the must-attend conference (and exhibition and ride & drive) for all companies and organisations operating – or wanting to operate – in the low carbon vehicle sector. A preview day provided a taster of what you can expect at the event…
CENEX LCV EVENT OVERVIEW AND UPDATE – ROBERT EVANS, CEO OF CENEX
Robert Evans described the LCV event as the perfect opportunity to find the next generation of collaborative and business partners for low carbon vehicle projects. This is the ninth year of the event, and during this time low carbon vehicle technologies have been the main focus. However this year energy for transport is featuring prominently in the two-day event, as the increasing adoption of electric cars leads to the continuing convergence of the energy and transport sectors.
HOW THE UK IS DEVELOPING EUROPE’S LEADING R&D ECOSYSTEM – LAWRENCE DAVIES, CEO OF AUTOMOTIVE INVESTMENT ORGANISATION
The Automotive Investment Organisation exists to help support UK automotive supply chain businesses, as well as to encourage inward investment from overseas companies. Lawrence said that the R&D and innovation support ecosystem in the UK, comprised of organisations such as the APC and the Catapults, was a key reason why overseas companies want to invest in this country.
DEVELOPING AND ANCHORING LOW CARBON CAPABILITIES IN THE UK – GARRY WILSON, DIRECTOR – BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT OF APC UK
Garry said that with all the drive towards lower emissions we’re currently going through the biggest ever change in the automotive industry – and the APC is here to help the UK industry turn the challenges into opportunities. The APC primarily does this by running two funding competitions per year, for £5 – £40m projects, which must be collaborative, with an SME and an OEM or Tier 1. However an additional new funding scheme has just been launched in order to provide funding up to £500,000 for SMEs for smaller projects, which is being delivered by the Niche Vehicle Network (NVN). The APC has also just published a Capability Study, which identifies low carbon technologies that the UK is well placed to deliver over the coming years. There will be a workshop looking at the Capability Study at the LCV2016 event.
HOW INTELLIGENT MOBILITY CAN HELP THE UK INDUSTRY REALISE ITS LOW CARBON POTENTIAL – ANDREW EVERETT, CHIEF STRATEGY OFFICER OF THE TRANSPORT SYSTEMS CATAPULT
Intelligent Mobility will represent a £900bn market opportunity for UK companies by 2025. As we move to a smarter, whole system approach to mobility, there will be new business models. Less people are likely to own cars and there will be a move to mobility providers, a service offered by car companies and others; who will be the next Uber in this space…?
EXHIBITORS AT LCV2016
The LCV2016 preview day featured a selection of some of the exhibitors that will be at the event in September.
Charge point providers were well represented, by companies such as ABB. ABB has now supplied over 4,000 rapid charging stations worldwide, more than any other company. ABB is also partnered with Volvo Bus – a company that has a very strategic view of low emission transport – and ABB technology can charge Volvo eBuses in under 6 minutes.
The LCV event is also a showcase for automotive low carbon engineering consultancies such as Ricardo, who will also have their latest R&D vehicles on show, and in many cases available for driving.
Emissions testing is another big issue at the moment, and Millbrook (host of the LCV event) and HORIBA MIRA will both have stands showcasing their range of testing services.
The Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership (LowCVP) is involved in a number of low carbon vehicle projects, including schemes to encourage lower emission cars, vans, trucks and buses, and the LowCVP Low Carbon Champions Awards are presented at the networking dinner that takes place on the evening of the first day of the LCV event.
The overall message at the recent Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership Conference was that, despite uncertainties caused by the UK’s vote to leave Europe, one thing that will remain is the need to lower vehicle emissions (this has been made all the more important by today’s news about record global temperatures). All the leading players in the low carbon vehicle sector will be at Cenex LCV2016; if you are part of a business that works in the UK automotive industry then you need to attend LCV2016.
Find out more about LCV2016 at www.cenex-lcv.co.uk
