A £106m package for projects developing green battery, vehicle and refuelling technology has been announced by the Prime Minister Theresa May at the Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Summit.

At the summit, the Prime Minister also hosted an automotive roundtable with supply-chain companies from Germany, the US, Japan, China, Spain and India, to explore what more the government and industry can do together to accelerate the development of the zero-emissions market.

The government will unveiled an international declaration that will forge the way for the worldwide deployment of green vehicles, and the introduction of smart, zero-emission infrastructure.

The first signatories to the ‘Birmingham Declaration’ include Italy, France, Denmark, the United Arab Emirates, Portugal, Belarus and Indonesia, with more nations currently in talks to sign up. This will form the basis of increasing international engagement at climate conferences throughout the year to accelerate the global transition.

The Prime Minister said: “I want to see Britain, once again, leading from the front and working with industries and countries around the world to spearhead change.

“That is why I have set this country an ambitious mission. To put the UK at the forefront of the design and manufacturing of zero-emission vehicles, and for all new cars and vans to be, effectively, zero-emission by 2040.

“Already, we are taking significant strides forward. Our electric UK-manufactured cars account for one-in-five sold in Europe. Our batteries are among the best in the world.

“And our Road to Zero Strategy is the most comprehensive plan globally – mapping out, in detail, how we will reach our target for all new cars and vans to be, effectively, zero-emission by 2040 – and for every car and van to be zero-emission by 2050.

“Today we have provided over £100m of funding for innovators in ultra-low emission vehicles and hydrogen technology. With a further £500m of investment from key industries in this sector.

“These measures will drive the design, use, uptake and infrastructure necessary for cleaner, greener vehicles – and in doing so, it will help us drastically reduce a major contributor to our global warming emissions, as we seek to meet the Paris Climate Change Agreement.”

A raft of other industry announcements totalling more than over £500m in projects relating to low emission technology were also made, including:

• Aston Martin announcing a further £50m investment at its new St Athan facility in Wales, which will become its centre for electrification and the home of the Lagonda brand;

• the EV Network, a UK-based charging station development company, is developing 200 fast-charging stations throughout the UK, representing an investment of around £200m; and

• Lloyds Banking Group, the principal partner of the ZEV Summit, announced a new £1m fund for electric vehicle leases to incentivise zero-emission driving.

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