Minister Anthony Browne MP and Ford chair Lisa Brankin | Credit: Ford
Expanded Essex facility to support US carmaker's plans to launch nine further electric car and van models in the UK by 2025
Ford has cut the ribbon on its new £24m electric vehicle (EV) powertrain test and development centre at the auto giant's UK headquarters in Essex, as it gears up to launch a wave of new electric cars and vans in the coming years.
Officially opened yesterday, the Propulsion Development Laboratory's test rooms are designed to pilot EV, hybrid, and internal combustion engine powertrains, while boasting the ability to "flex between technologies in anticipation of market changes and customer changes", Ford said.
It comprises eight vehicle-sized rooms capable of testing electric power units and propulsion systems in a bid to maximise development time and enable "round-the-clock component reliability sign-off", the US carmaker added.
The facility sits adjacent to Ford's Advanced Propulsion Laboratory as well as its separate prototype Electrified Powertrain Manufacturing Engineering (E:PRiME) facility on the same site, and is designed to support Ford's wider EV strategy, which is aiming to launch nine new electric vans and cars by 2025.
"This is the third new test facility opened on our Dunton Campus in two years, underpinning the site's key role in delivering Ford's electric vehicle plan in Europe," said Lisa Brankin, chair and managing director of Ford Britain and Ireland.
Ford has previously invested £47m overall in the new facilities at the Essex campus, bringing total investment at the site to over £70m.
The Advanced Propulsion Centre is focused on minimising noise and vibration from EV powertrains, as well as developing hybrid powertrains, while E:PRiME develops advanced manufacturing processes and produces prototype EV components.
The Propulsion Development Laboratory was officially opened yesterday by the government's Transport Minister Anthony Browne, who said the state-of-the-art facilities at the site were "essential for scaling up the UK's electric vehicle production".
"It's great to see a commitment to UK EV development following our ZEV mandate becoming law earlier this year, meaning we have a clear pathway for reducing car and van emissions," he added.
Ford is targeting the sale of only zero emissions cars across Europe by 2030, and for vans by 2035, in addition to achieving carbon neutral operations at its European facilities, manufacturing, logistics and suppliers by the same date. It is also aiming to achieve net zero emissions across its entire operations worldwide by 2050.
In addition, the company is aiming to ensure at least 10 per cent of the steel and aluminium it uses to make its cars comes from near-zero emissions sources by 2035, as part of the First Movers Coalition.
Don't forget to get your entries in for this year's UK Green Business Awards ahead of the March 1st deadline.
