Northumberland clean engineering firm Avid Technology has been named as part of a £33m scheme that aims to create of secure more than 2,000 jobs in the low carbon economy.
The Cramlington firm is working with construction giant Caterpillar on a project that aims to develop fully electrified construction machines.
The work is the second time Avid has worked with Caterpillar, with the new project coming a year after it teamed up with the company and Imperial College London to develop a new battery storage system for electric machinery.
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The latest project is one of four being backed by £33m of Government funding from the Advanced Propulsion Centre.
Other companies in the scheme include Tata Motors and Unipart Powertrain Applications, with projects ranging from the development of high-performance battery packs and electrified construction equipment, to hydrogen-powered engines.
Ryan Maughan, MD at Avid Technology Group, said: “We are extremely pleased our relationship with Caterpillar continues to grow as the company seeks to move towards efficient and fully electrified drivetrains for its machines. Securing this latest programme with Caterpillar shows great confidence in our capabilities to support customer programmes from prototype development to series production.
“The company is a global leader in the manufacture of construction and mining equipment. Previous programmes we have worked on together have been focused on hybrid technology and battery systems for large-scale highway and off highway machines.
“This new project will see Avid draw on its latest technology and know-how to develop a fully electrified machine and powertrain system for a more compact vehicle.”
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Avid’s customer base includes high performance passenger car manufacturers and motorsport, heavy-duty trucks, buses and off-highway machinery manufacturers, including Volvo, Jaguar Land Rover, McLaren Automotive and Scania.
Its growing reputation as one of the most advanced businesses in the electric vehicle sector led to it last year being named a potential tech ‘unicorn’ - companies with $1bn valuations - by international investment group GP Bullhound.
Commenting on the new project, Business Minister Andrew Stephenson said: “This new investment will further enhance the 海角视频’s leading position in the development of clean growth in the automotive sector. We are committed to our Future of Mobility mission to be a world leader in the design and manufacture of zero emissions technology as part of our modern Industrial Strategy.
“These projects will build the capacity and capability of 海角视频 companies to manufacture low carbon technology and create high skilled jobs and opportunities for all throughout the country in our development of innovative, clean technology.”