Wednesday, October 9, 2024
Electric VehiclesLatestNews

Automotive Council zero-emission vehicle roadmaps revealed

The industry trends and innovations required to deliver plans for zero-emissions vehicles have been revealed at the launch of the Automotive Council UK roadmaps 2024.

Produced by the Advanced Propulsion Centre UK (APC) on behalf of the Automotive Council UK, the roadmaps draw on the expertise of 230 organisations from vehicle manufacturers and technology suppliers to consultants, academics, and government.

APC pinpointed four cross-cutting themes or macro-level drivers that influence all aspects of its technology roadmaps.

It said the themes interact with each other and with the technology roadmaps, and includes policy and regulation – examining the influence of legislative frameworks on technological progress; energy and infrastructure – assessing the role of energy availability and infrastructural support for innovation; manufacturing – understanding capabilities and constraints on technology development; and digitialisation.

Key highlights of the roadmaps includes:

  1. Building supply chain resilience across the value chain for automotive strategic technologies and powertrain solutions
  2. Reducing reliance on rare-earth elements and critical materials through a focus on circularity
  3. Building accessibility and affordability into zero-emission vehicles design
  4. Optimisation of vehicle efficiency and battery performance
  5. Improved connectivity across different transport modes
  6. Technology-holistic approach to support transitional solutions for specific vehicle applications. 

Dr Hadi Moztarzadeh, Head of Technology Trends at the APC, said:

“Representing the consensus view of key stakeholders these essential strategic documents are developed and updated when new data or opportunities emerge.

“A key driver for recent change is the integration of green energy sources into mass transit solutions and logistical fleet operations. Smart energy innovations, policy and legislation in suburban areas are enabling all transport solutions worldwide to transition to more sustainable modes of mobility to ensure a sustainable and net-zero transport ecosystem.

“For 2024, collectively we identified the need to introduce two system-level roadmaps, the Mobility of People (MoP) and the Mobility of Goods (MoG), to provide a holistic view of the role of automotive products In the broader transport ecosystem and support strategic decision making across these extremely important and interconnected sectors.” 

Julian Hetherington, Automotive Transformation Director, APC said:

“A culmination of years of collaboration, (the roadmaps) are an essential tool in identifying the pathways to a net-zero future, highlighting key milestones that present both the opportunities available and challenges that must be overcome.

“Central to our vision is the transition towards a net zero future. The roadmaps highlight key areas such as electrification, digitalisation, and advanced manufacturing, while highlighting the critical challenges of supply chain resilience, and regulatory alignment across automotive and broader transport sector as well as the energy sector in an increasingly interconnected world.”

Image from Shutterstock

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