Nineteen small and medium companies from across the West Midlands have been chosen to join a new business programme aimed at tackling environmental challenges in the rail and automotive sectors.
The Clean Futures accelerator programme is run by London-based Connected Places Catapult which is an innovation accelerator for cities, transport and place leadership.
The companies selected for the 2024 programme are Aeroforge, Alucast, Composite Braiding, EnginSoft 海角视频, Extend Robotics, GBR Rail, Geospatial Ventures, Grinsty, Integrated Systems Engineering, LiBatt Recycling, MOLE, Moasure, Moonbility, OX Delivers, Raeon, Taraz Metrology, Treeva, Unipart Powertrain Applications and Vanguard.
They will each receive up to £50,000 to trial their products and services over the next six months.
They are geared towards responding to challenges associated with the rail and automotive manufacturing sectors which include areas such as manufacturing and assembly design, cost-effective clean transportation infrastructure and the production, transport and storage of alternative fuels.
Sign up for your free West Midlands newsletter and follow us on LinkedIn
Email newsletters
BusinessLive is your home for business news from across the West Midlands including Birmingham, the Black Country, Solihull, Coventry and Staffordshire.
Click through here to sign up for our email newsletter and also view the broad range of other bulletins we offer including weekly sector-specific updates.
We will also send out 'Breaking News' emails for any stories which must be seen right away.
For all the latest stories, views and polls, follow our
Alongside funding, the accelerator will also provide the businesses with bespoke technical and commercial support, utilising expertise and facilities at the Black Country Innovative Manufacturing Organisation in Dudley and The Advanced Manufacturing Centre at Coventry University.
The cohort will also be provided with networking and showcasing opportunities to connect with industry and financial partners.
Most Read
Now in its second year, the accelerator has already supported 20 SMEs through the first year's cohort and 18 of those businesses have entered discussions with new customers about their innovations.
A total of £2.6 million has so far been secured through contracts or research and development funding, with a further £43 million in the commercial pipeline.
So far, £1.3 million has been raised in private investment, with a further £27 million pending.
Clean Futures is part of the wider West Midlands Innovation Accelerator which is designed to bolster the region's innovation and R&D capability to spark commercial growth and investment.
Alex Cousins, regional director at Connected Places Catapult, said: "Clean Futures is supporting the West Midlands to be at the heart of the green industrial revolution.
"Through our close collaboration with the Black Country Innovative Manufacturing Organisation and Coventry University, we are enabling green transport innovators in the West Midlands to test their ideas and build their businesses.
"The first-year cohort of businesses on this programme has already seen millions of pounds worth of contracts and investments secured and I'm excited to see what this year's cohort can achieve."
Don’t miss
Prof Marcos Kauffman, director of the Institute for Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering at Coventry University, added: "Clean Futures is helping the region move towards being net zero by 2041 and we've already seen huge successes with the first cohort of SMEs involved in the accelerator programme.
"We are excited to see what the next group of entrepreneurs can bring to the table and use Coventry University's cutting edge research facilities to make a difference here in the West Midlands and further afield."