DRIVE35 Collaborate

DRIVE35 Collaborate

Supports industry consortia advancing zero-emission vehicle technologies toward manufacturing commercialization.

DRIVE35 Collaborate is the largest-scale competitive grant stream within the Advanced Propulsion Centre's DRIVE35 program, targeting late-stage, consortium-led R&D projects that are ready to transition from technology development to commercial deployment in the UK automotive sector. APC, headquartered at the University of Warwick campus in Coventry, operates in co-funding partnership with Innovate UK (UKRI) and the Department for Business and Trade. The Collaborate competition covers three funded themes: zero-emission vehicles, manufacturing competitiveness, and software-defined vehicles and electronic/electrical architectures. Projects must reach TRL 7–8 or MRL 6–7 by completion.

The 2026 cycle offers awards from £2,500,000 to £25,000,000 per project at a minimum 50% match-funding requirement across the consortium. Project durations run 18 to 36 months. Consortia must be led by a UK-registered business of any size — SME, OEM, or Tier N supplier — and may include academic institutions, charities, not-for-profit organizations, public sector bodies, and research and technology organizations as partners. All participants must demonstrate intent to exploit the technology commercially in the UK. Applications open June 22, 2026 and close September 23, 2026, subject to government approval.

To be competitive, consortia should demonstrate a credible route to UK market exploitation, a clear industrial champion leading the project, and a project plan that meets the 18-to-36-month delivery window with sufficient match funding committed. APC encourages early contact to discuss scope alignment before the window opens. The £25 million ceiling makes this one of the largest single-competition grants available to the UK zero-emission vehicle supply chain, with particular value to Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers undertaking system-level integration or manufacturing scale-up.