New £22M venture in UK to help small firms commercialize new and low carbon automotive technologies

27 February 2013

A new £21.8-million (US$33-million) initiative aimed at boosting component manufacturing in the automotive sector has been launched in the UK. The Proving Factory will be run by Tata Steel and and low-carbon vehicle engineering firm and LowCVP member, Productiv. Set up with £13 million (US$19.6 million) of Government funds matched by £9 million in private investment, it will provide a facility for small companies to turn prototype technologies into commercial products.

The Proving Factory will consist of two facilities: component manufacturing at the Tata Steel site at Brinsworth, Rotherham and an assembly facility in the West Midlands, providing employment and regeneration.

Funded under the Government’s Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain Initiative, the Proving Factory’s production and assembly facilities will industrialize innovation and supply—both components and systems—into the automotive supply chain.

Tata and Productiv’s partners include MIRA, the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, Jaguar Land Rover, Schaeffler, Unipart and the Midlands Assembly Network.

The initiative is designed to enable the manufacture of innovations to meet low volume demands by vehicle manufacturers before they are adopted into mainstream vehicle platforms.

The Proving Factory’s initial customers include: Flybrid Automotive, Drive System Design, Libralato, Bladon Jets and Torotrak.