New Department for Transport initiative designed to support the development of clean rail demonstration projects
The government has this week launched a new £9m competition to identify cutting-edge ideas that can enhance train passenger journeys and decarbonise the UK rail network.
Delivered through the Department for Transport and Innovate UK, the 2021 First of a Kind (FOAK) competition is inviting applications from projects that can help make the network cleaner, greener and more passenger-friendly.
The latest competition represents the fifth round of awards from the fund, which has previously provided £25m to support projects, such as the HydroFLEX programme to test the UK's the first mainline hydrogen train, inspection drone trials for assessing rail infrastructure, and hydrogen-based steam turbines to drive zero-emission, low-noise rail freight.
Rail Minister Chris Heaton-Harris announced the launch at this week's Rail Innovation Exhibition, where he also reiterated the government's commitment to slashing emissions across the rail network.
"This country pioneered the railway, and that spirit of innovation and ingenuity has never been more vital as we look to build back better from this pandemic," Heaton-Harris said. "Our railways will underpin this country's economic recovery and help realise our ambitions of a carbon-neutral future. Through initiatives like the First of a Kind competition, we are investing today to build the railway of tomorrow."
His comments were echoed by Simon Edwards, deputy executive chair and chief business officer at Innovate UK, who invited project developers to come forward with funding applications.
"A greener railway, easier for everyone, with a better experience for users is the aim of this competition," he said. "Innovative companies all over the UK have proved their mettle in previous rounds of this scheme. Now we call again for even more fresh thinking to help deliver a better and greener railway that delivers for passengers and freight users."
Interested parties now have until 10 March 2021 to bid for funding.
In 2020, 25 projects received a share of £9.4m of funding with past winners including the high profile HydroFLEX project, which used funding received from FOAK in both 2019 and 2020 to develop the UK's first full-size hydrogen-powered train to be run on the mainline railway.
The government is facing on-going calls from campaigners to step up efforts to decarbonise the rail network, having controversially scaled back plans to electrify a number of lines over the past decade, leaving them reliant on diesel rolling stock. Ministers have signalled that they are optimistic innovative new train designs, such as hydrogen or battery powered trains, could serve to decarbonise these lines over the coming years.