AIE secure InnovateUK Smart Award grant to develop ultra-compact electric vehicle range extender

InnovateUK is the UK’s innovation agency, tasked by the government to work with people, companies and partner organisations to find and drive the science and technology innovations that will grow the UK economy.

Now, AIE have secured a lucrative grant from InnovateUK to develop market-leading technology which will extend the range of electric vehicles. The company specialise in designing and manufacturing efficient and reliable rotary engines and the grant will help AIE to develop an ultra compact electric vehicle range extender unit.

Nathan Bailey, Managing Director of AIE, said: “One of the challenges facing the electric vehicle industry is ‘range anxiety’. Many people are wary of using electric vehicles because of the limited range that a vehicle can travel using its battery.

“We’re developing a compact ‘range extender unit’ based on our patented rotary engines. This is designed to provide extra energy to charge a vehicle’s battery, extending the range of the car.

“The InnovateUK grant will help us to build and test a brand new unit which we hope will have multiple uses across the automotive industry,” he added.

Innovate UK’s remit is to determine which science and technology developments will drive future economic growth and to fund the strongest opportunities. Grants totalling £9.3 million were awarded during this particular process.