UK-India deliberations on hybrid and electric vehicles

Last week (October 13-14), the UK Science and Innovation team  partnered with UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) team to organise a UK-India programme on hybrid and electric vehicles in Pune, Maharashtra. This workshop was part of a series of events graced by Rt Hon Dr Vince Cable, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, who was visiting India to promote the UK’s continued engagement with industry and academia here.

A 7-member delegation of experts from top UK universities as well as the Office for Low Emission Vehicles participated in the 2-day visit to Pune, India.

On day 1, the delegates toured the facilities of the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) with Vijay Pankhawala, General Manager – Business Development & Corporate Planning. We visited the materials characterisation laboratory, and full frontal vehicle crash testing facility among others. The ARAI was established by the automotive industry with support from the Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises. Later that afternoon, the UK delegates (academia & industry) met with the Secretary of State to discuss potential UK-India collaboration opportunities in the automotive sector. For instance, mechanisms to identify emerging business opportunities in India, and funding avenues for joint UK-India research projects. The day concluded with a networking reception for the stakeholders from both countries to explore future engagements with each other.

Day 2 began with a visit to Tata Motors. Apart from a viewing of the vehicle models manufactured at the Pune campus, we also visited the factory -floor of the Jaguar plant. The campus was huge and looked like an automotive-themed city! Next, a UK-India workshop was held at the ARAI campus, which witnessed participation from the Indian academia and industry. The visiting UK delegates shared glimpses of their ongoing research in hybrid and electric vehicles at various centres of excellence such as Dynamics, Control and Vehicle Research Group at the University of Sussex, Energy and Power Group at the University of Oxford, and Powertrain and Vehicle Research Centre at the University of Bath, to name a few. Kartik Gopal represented Mahindra REVA, and spoke about the company’s products and potential collaboration opportunities with the academia. The discussion that followed the presentations brought out the mutual interest and enthusiasm between the UK and India participants to collaborate through mechanisms such as UK-India Education and Research Initiative, Global Innovation Initiative, and Global Innovation and Technology Alliance.

In the near future, I’ll be posting updates here on any bilateral follow up meetings, collaborations, or projects. In the interim, if you’re based in India and would like to touch base with any of the UK experts, please get in touch with me. If you’re based in the UK and would like to make contact with the ARAI, Tata Motors, and Mahindra REVA, I’d be happy to make relevant introductions. Finally, if you’d like to know more about the latest in the international automotive scene, you might want to attend the Symposium on International Automotive Technology 2015 2015, which will be held in the ARAI campus from 21-24 January 2015. I hope to see you then!