UK bus manufacturers Alexander Dennis and Wrightbus are each part of separate projects that have been awarded grant funding for technology development. They will advance electric repower and autonomous driving, respectively.

Alexander Dennis via its AD Repower venture in partnership with KleanDrive will receive money from the DRIVE35 Demonstrate programme. It falls under the Department for Business and Trade (DfBT) and is delivered via the Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) UK.

That support will enable the parties to continue to develop what Alexander Dennis says are “modular electric powertrains” to repower diesel buses to zero-emission. A first prototype conversion, of an Alexander Dennis Enviro400, is due for completion in 2026.

Repower work under the arrangement is built around a ‘plug and play’ approach for the electric drivetrain and software.

A skid system incorporates a Vehicle Electrical Drive System from Driventic and power electronics, with no post-conversion compromise on the Enviro400 interior layout and “allowing existing buses’ full seating capacity to be retained,” says the bus manufacturer.

APC information on the wider scheme notes that 18 projects will share over £29.1 million via the DRIVE35 Demonstrate programme. That includes £14.3 million of grants, matched by industry funding.

Meanwhile, Wrightbus is lead partner in ASPIRE. It is one of eight projects selected under the Feasibility Studies 2 competition that is part of the £150 million Connected and Automated Mobility Pathfinder programme, which also falls under DfBT in collaboration with Innovate UK and Zenzic.

Wrightbus is joined by academic partners Loughborough University and Queen’s University Belfast on the project.

It will examine how self-driving vehicles could help to solve what the bus manufacturer says is “a critical UK mobility challenge – addressing structural driver shortages, rising operational costs, and the need to maintain connectivity in communities while meeting zero-emission mandates.”

The collaboration is not pursuing immediate full-scale autonomy, but is adopting a phased, evidence-driven approach to test what works, measure results, and use learnings to make introduction of self-driving passenger services in the future safer and easier.

Speaking about the work, Wrightbus Head of Research and Data Analytics Dr Andy Harris says: “Driver shortages and the pressure to decarbonise are the two biggest challenges facing UK public transport operators today.

“ASPIRE gives us the opportunity to explore how autonomous technology, combined with our world-leading zero-emission vehicles, could offer a genuinely transformative solution not just for operators, but for the communities we serve.”

Dr Harris adds that the funding “reflects the confidence the UK government has in Wrightbus as an innovative leader” and that the manufacturer is proud to work alongside its academic partners “to develop a credible, commercial business case for the future of autonomous public transport.”