Published on November 22nd, 2017 | by James Ayre

UK’s New Budget Statement To Include Support For Self-Driving Car, EV, & AI Development

November 22nd, 2017 by James Ayre

The new budget statement from the UK’s finance minister, Philip Hammond, will include measures meant to support the development of self-driving car and plug-in electric vehicle tech, as well as artificial intelligence and telecommunications, the UK’s finance ministry has revealed.

The move represents a further example of the UK’s government’s recent and ongoing efforts to establish itself as a research and development center for emerging technologies — such as artificial intelligence, self-driving vehicles, electric vehicles, battery technologies, and next-gen nuclear.

It also seemingly represents an attempt to generate some positive PR in an otherwise dismal political environment — as the ongoing Brexit negotiation slog continues to damage the credibility of the current administration.

“The finance ministry said Hammond would announce regulatory changes to the driverless car industry so that developers could apply to test their vehicles on UK roads without a human operator for the first time. He wants fully self-driving cars to be on UK roads in as little as 3 years,” Reuters reports.

“The ministry said a new £400 million (~$530 million) Charging Infrastructure Investment Fund would also be created, improving access to finance for businesses to develop charge points across the UK. Also £100 million would be provided in grants to help people buy battery-electric vehicles.”

Elsewhere, around £75 million will reportedly be invested into artificial intelligence development, £160 million into 5G mobile network development, £100 million into hiring new computer science teachers, and £76 million into “boosting” digital and construction skills.

Interestingly, the budget statement will also reportedly include a consultation on the taxing of single-use plastics (such as plastic bags, etc.).

Complete our 2017 CleanTechnica Reader Survey — have your opinions, preferences, and deepest wishes heard.

Check out our 93-page EV report, based on over 2,000 surveys collected from EV drivers in 49 of 50 US states, 26 European countries, and 9 Canadian provinces.

Tags: AI, EV subsidies, self driving cars, self-driving vehicles, UK, UK EV Subsidies, UK self-driving cars

About the Author

James Ayre 's background is predominantly in geopolitics and history, but he has an obsessive interest in pretty much everything. After an early life spent in the Imperial Free City of Dortmund, James followed the river Ruhr to Cofbuokheim, where he attended the University of Astnide. And where he also briefly considered entering the coal mining business. He currently writes for a living, on a broad variety of subjects, ranging from science, to politics, to military history, to renewable energy. You can follow his work on Google+.