A project to develop the world’s first commercially viable, low-cost, lightweight, and all-composite wheel for electric vehicles has won a funding grant of £135,500.
The ACRIM (All Composite Reduced Inertia Modular Wheels) project won the funding after entering the Niche Vehicle Network competition.
It is being developed by a consortium of UK composite experts comprising of Carbon ThreeSixty, Far UK, and Bitrez.
Forecast to be four kilograms lighter than a generic eight kilogram 15 inch wheel, the all-composite wheel is predicted to provide efficiency gains of five to ten per cent, representing a five per cent fuel saving or a five per cent CO2 reduction when retrofitted to a petrol or diesel-powered vehicle.
Over the next six months, the consortium will use the funding to move the all-composite wheel from proof of concept through to demonstration and production readiness.
Edward Allnutt, Managing Director at Carbon ThreeSixty, said: “Without funding from the Niche Vehicle Network this project would not have got off the ground.”
“The funding is enabling us to further invest in R&D and accelerate the time to market for innovative products such as the ACRIM. Despite SME’s being the engine room for innovation within the UK, we often struggle to access the finance required to exploit our ideas.”
“Support from organisations such as the Niche Vehicle Network and Innovate UK enables us to do just that. The partnership for this project represents some of the foremost experts in the UK composites sector working together to launch a truly revolutionary product.”