Latest funding for CAV testing and development through Meridian

Meridian will shortly announce the details of the next round competitions to develop the UK’s seamless network for testing and development of connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs).

In October 2017, the first investments to create the UK Testbed were announced with a £51 million commitment to develop four CAV testing facilities across five locations following an open competition for funding. This programme (Meridian Mobility 1) created the first integrated national CAV platform combining on-road, controlled and virtual testing and development facilities.

Grant funding will be coordinated through Meridian to consortia wishing to bring forward projects that will accelerate the development of the UK’s capability in the following areas:

• CAV Data Exchange – this competition will deliver capabilities that unlock the sharing of road transportation data generated by infrastructure, connected or autonomous vehicles
• Autonomous Highway, Rural and Parking Test Facilities – up to £25 million to develop CAV testing infrastructure for autonomous parking and inter-urban (between cities, towns and rural areas) driving.

Meridian works in close partnership with the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV), Innovate UK and the Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN) along with industry, academic institutions and organisations sharing the goal of accelerating intelligent mobility through collaboration worldwide.

Dr Daniel Ruiz, CEO of Meridian said

‘We welcome participation from organisations in the automotive, telecommunications, transport infrastructure, mobility, simulation and analytics industries and others who may wish to engage with the opportunities that will be enabled with the latest grant funding programme.

‘In the coming days we will be inviting organisations to join us at briefing and collaboration events, and look forward to receiving applications for the funding competitions which will further develop the UK’s CAV testing and development capabilities’.

Full details of the competitions and the programme of events to support them will be announced in the coming days but they will include:

Meridian Mobility 2 – CAV Data Exchange Competition

There will be a briefing event in London on Monday 11^th June which will also be accessible as a webcast. If you would like to attend the event or connect with the webcast please register by clicking on the relevant links below:

Find out more about the Briefing Event on 11th June 2018 in London.

Find out more about the Webcast on 11th June 2018.

Meridian Mobility 3 – Autonomous Highway, Rural and Parking Test Facilities Competition

There will be a briefing event in London on Friday 8^th June which will also be accessible as a webcast. There will also be a briefing event  in Birmingham on Tuesday 12th June. If you would like to attend one of the events or connect with the webcast please register by clicking on the relevant links below:

Find out more about the Briefing Event on Friday 8th June 2018 in London.

Find out more about the Briefing Event on Tuesday 12th June 2018 in Birmingham.

It is expected that the competitions will open in early summer with the winners announced in the autumn. Details will be available on the Meridian website and the competition process will be managed by Innovate UK.