APC - External Process Evaluation
External process evaluation of the Advanced Propulsion Centre that provides evidence on effectiveness of delivery, and early findings on ‘what works’ in government automotive R&D funding.
The Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) was launched by the UK Government and the Automotive Council in 2013 to:
- Achieve significant progress in developing low carbon propulsion technologies; and,
- Anchor and attract R&D capability in the UK and leverage high value manufacturing opportunities that market exploitation may provide.
The APC is comprised of £1bn in funding commitments from the public and private sector to support industry led R&D and the creation of APC Ltd, an independent body tasked with the coordination of R&D activity in the sector. The evidence from the evaluation suggests that the APC is broadly on course to meet its dual objectives of accelerating the progress of low carbon propulsion technologies and securing the long-term competitiveness of the UK automotive sector. Key evaluation findings include:
- Much of the planned production activity is expected to go forward in the UK and there are numerous examples of APC projects anchoring production activities in the UK and in some cases contributing to the development of significant capabilities (such as in kinetic energy recovery systems).
- The collaboration requirements of the programme have forced OEMs to work with many domestic suppliers where they may have otherwise preferred to have worked with firms overseas.
- While the progress of the portfolio of projects is encouraging, technical and commercial risks appear to be more significant than anticipated at the appraisal stage by stakeholders. It is natural to expect some projects to fail given the nature of the programme, though it may be beneficial to consider possible strategies for improving the management of risks.
- The R&D agenda of large OEMs has evolved substantially since the programme was conceived in 2013, with many now seeing electric vehicles as the likely future standard that will enable the requirements of emissions legislation to be met.
- A major issue that arose in the research was a concern relating to the capabilities of suppliers to respond to a large-scale increase in demand for electric vehicles. While there is evidence that the programme has helped SMEs build their capabilities, they were insufficiently developed to enable them to produce at the scales that may be needed in the future.
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