UK invests £7.6m in rail innovation competition
The UK Government announced today it will invest £7.6m in rail innovation competition First of a Kind.
A joint venture between the Department for Transport (DfT) innovation agency Innovate UK, the competition aims to find new ways to innovate the railway sector, focusing especially on decarbonisation solutions.
This year, First of a Kind will focus on technologies that improve the sector’s cost-efficiency and network performance.
The sixth round of the competition will run for a month and a half, from 20 April to 8 June.
“It’s official – we’re launching the 6th round of our rail innovation competition, First of a Kind with Innovate UK,” tweeted transport secretary Grant Shapps earlier today.
“I’m investing £7.6m for projects which will build the railway of tomorrow.
Past winners include HydroFLEX, the first mainline trial of a hydrogen train, as well as HEAR, a software that supports hearing impaired passengers.
“In partnership with Innovate UK, we have already invested £35.4 million into over 100 groundbreaking projects,” added rail minister Wendy Morton.
“As part of our Plan for Rail, it’s key we continue breathing life into new ideas and supporting innovation and design to deliver greener rail journeys and transform rail travel for all passengers.