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UK government to invest almost £1 million in transport tech start-ups

Posted: 24 September 2019 |

The Transport-Technology Research and Innovation Grant (T-TRIG) is available for entrepreneurs and innovators pioneering new ways of creating a better transport system.

UK government to invest almost £1 million in transport tech start-ups

Innovative and tech-focused transport start-ups can now bid for a share of almost £1 million (£960,000) in Department for Transport (DfT) funding.

The funding is a key part of the UK’s Future of Mobility Grand Challenge strategy, which is taking advantage of innovation in UK engineering and technology that will help the government deliver better and sustainable journeys for all.

Unique to this year’s grant, the competition has three themed elements: decarbonisation, age-friendly and accessible transport, and potholes and resilient infrastructure. These reflect the Industrial Strategy Grand Challenges and core issues facing the UK’s transport network.

Issuing targeted investments of up to £30,000 for each project, the fund aims to help start-ups and academics propel their ideas to market quicker.

The Minister for the Future of Transport, George Freeman MP, will launch the competition at a roundtable with UK transport technology businesses. George Freeman, said: “We now have an exciting opportunity to stimulate the brightest thinkers in our universities and small business networks to try out novel solutions to fix legacy problems across our transport system and realise their visions for the future.”

Now in its 10th round of funding, the government has provided £4.6 million via this grant over the past five years to more than 140 technology and innovation projects.

Alex Murray, Managing Director and Co-Founder of e-bike company FLIT, previous recipients of the T-TRIG, said: “Early support from the DfT was crucial for getting our first e-bike off the ground. The grant allowed us to build our first prototype and we learnt an enormous amount from this process.”