Autonomous vehicle development and research firms can now bid for a share of £30m government funding intended to drive the testing of connected and autonomous vehicles.

There is up to £30m for infrastructure that supports connected and autonomous vehicle development

Run by the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV) – with Meridian Mobility and Innovate UK – the funding covers two separate pots; £5m for one project that supports the sharing and trading of data generated by infrastructure, connected or autonomous vehicles or other third parties, and up to £25m for up to six projects for facilities to support the testing of connected and autonomous vehicles for highways, rural roads and parking, covering parts of the West Midlands through to the South East.

In a statement, Innovate UK and CCAV said: “Connected and autonomous vehicles are a rapidly developing technology area. They offer potentially huge economic and social benefits – but in leveraging this we need to make sure that safety, security and privacy are not compromised.

“By funding the infrastructure that supports these vehicles, we will help industry to develop safe, efficient systems for moving goods and people around.”

The competitions could see businesses attract up to 50% of their project costs and are open till midday on 29 August 2018.