Farnham, UK – [18 September 2024] – Protean Electric (Protean) the world-leading developer of in-wheel motors (IWM) can confirm its consortium has secured a £5.5 million Collaborative Research and Development grant from the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC). The funding was announced yesterday by Sarah Jones, Minister of State at both the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, and the Department for Business and Trade, during a tour of Protean’s Farnham-based HQ.

The project, named PULSE (Power electronics Upscale for Localisation and Sustainable Electrification), will be led by Protean and will advance its state-of-the-art of IWM and, in conjunction with Unipart Manufacturing, amongst other consortium members, will deliver a dedicated make-like-production pilot line for power electronics systems used by IWM and other net-zero products.

Sarah Jones, Minister of State at both the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, and the Department for Business and Trade, said, “Labour is committed to boosting the jewel in the crown of our manufacturing base – the automotive industry. Working in partnership with industry this fund will drive innovation and propel the development of next generation zero emission vehicle technologies.”

Andrew Whitehead, Chief Executive Officer of Protean Electric, said, “We are thrilled that project PULSE has been selected by the APC and the new Government, as it supports Protean to continue to lead electric vehicle innovation from our UK development centre. Protean’s state-of-the-art in-wheel motors are a key solution to improve range, user experience and most importantly affordability of electric vehicles. We were delighted to welcome Minister Jones yesterday and would like to thank her for the new Government’s continued commitment towards net-zero, and look forward to engaging further on these topics in the future.”

The project PULSE consortium draws on other UK-based engineering and innovation partners. Unipart will bring decades of advanced manufacturing expertise to create a first-of-its-kind flexible assembly line, that can build a mixture of inverters and converters, including Viritech’s advanced DC/DC 800V converter. The collaboration builds on sensor technology from Transense and recycling processes from Hypromag, and will further improve efficiency and sustainability through industrialising best-in-class research from Coventry University and Warwick Manufacturing Group.