A total of eight studies exploring how autonomous vehicles could benefit businesses and communities across the UK have received funding from a government-backed initiative aimed at accelerating the roll-out of commercially viable connected and automated mobility (CAM) services in the UK.
Part of the UK government’s industrial strategy is to address the complexities in commercialising CAM vehicles, and in addition to increased funding, the programme is complemented by the Automated Vehicles Act 2024, which is designed to pave the way for self-driving vehicles to be used safely and securely on British roads, removing the need for safety drivers. Alongside full implementation of the act by 2027, the government is also enabling commercial pilots of bus and taxi-like services from spring 2026.
Running until 2030, the £150m CAM Pathfinder programme is seen as key to realising the industry’s potential. It is aimed at addressing the challenges of bringing CAM vehicles to market, providing funding for projects that are intended to develop “world-first” technologies, products and services, ranging from “cutting-edge” software to smart transport services. It was announced in the government’s advanced manufacturing sector plan, which aims to grow the UK’s CAM industry – calculated to be worth £3.7bn.
Projects funded by CAM Pathfinder must demonstrate that the cutting-edge technology or mobility services being developed can help industries become safer, sustainable, inclusive and more productive. By accelerating the development, deployment and adoption of such technologies and services, the objective is to support growth and investment, and unlock innovation across transport.
The CAM Pathfinder programme is delivered by the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV), supported by Zenzic and Innovate UK. CCAV is a joint policy unit of the Department for Transport and the Department for Business and Trade. Zenzic was created by the UK government and industry to champion the CAM ecosystem and lead the UK in accelerating the self-driving revolution, with the goal of ensuring a safer, more secure, sustainable and inclusive transport future.
The aim of the Feasibility Studies 2 competition is to support organisations to overcome key barriers to investment decisions in CAM technologies, both in private and public sector environments. Through the studies, organisations will set out to produce business cases designed to unlock advanced, at-scale deployments of CAM across the UK. It will offer an initiative to establish how self-driving vehicles could boost the aviation sector; how self-driving freight vehicles could lift the nation’s automotive industry and how private-hire automated vehicles could be deployed on London roads.
Among the projects are Aspire, a study looking to address what is seen as a critical UK mobility challenge: structural driver shortages, rising operational costs and the need to maintain connectivity while meeting zero-emission mandates. It is being carried out by the Bamford Bus Company, Loughborough University and Queen’s University Belfast.
A study by Fusion Processing, Develop and quantify business models, is seeking to identify the staff, processes and investments required to deliver operational cost savings and efficiencies at UK airports, while Moonbility is offering Sentinel Shuttle, a future-ready feasibility study to unlock safe, scalable driverless shuttle operations across NHS hospital and care estates. This is being enabled by real-time onboard monitoring and remote oversight.
Odysse has embarked on a feasibility study for Level-4 automated vehicles (AVs) on private-hire services in high-demand London corridors. This will explore how emerging self-driving technologies could help shape the future of urban mobility in one of the world’s most dynamic cities.
Based on work by BCA Automotive, National Highways, Newcastle University, Perform Green, South Tyneside Council and Sunderland City Council, the North East Vehicle Autonomous Corridor comprises a feasibility study into the deployment of autonomous electric HGVs. It will focus on the strategic road freight corridor between the Nissan Motor Manufacturing UK Sunderland plant and the Port of Tyne.
Meanwhile, Tactic is a six-month feasibility study led by iC4DTI, with Cenex as partner, to produce an investment-ready business case for a driver-out CAM freight service on the Teesport to Teesside International Airport corridor within the Teesside Freeport.
The V-CAL feasibility study will assess the commercial viability of deploying autonomous yard tractors on the Vantec-Nissan route in Sunderland. The nine-month project builds on the outcomes of the 5G CAL and V-CAL initiatives, moving from technical proof-of-concept to a business case for full-scale deployment without safety drivers.
Dedicated CAV corridor
Finally, the Wellcome Genome Campus project will deliver a feasibility study for one of the UK’s first dedicated corridors for connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs). It will link the Wellcome Genome Campus (WGC) to Whittlesford Parkway railway station in Cambridgeshire.
Mark Cracknell, programme director at Zenzic, said: “CAM solutions have the potential to unlock new business opportunities and economic growth in all corners of the country. These feasibility studies will help to articulate the impact that market-ready CAM technologies can have on both business productivity and economic growth. We are excited to start working with the organisations delivering each of the eight projects to further develop their business cases, demonstrate the commerciality of their solutions and paint a clearer picture of the commercially viable CAM solutions coming down the road.”
Claire Spooner, director of innovation service at Innovate UK, added: “This latest tranche of funding from the CAM Pathfinder programme will enable the UK to unlock the huge future benefits of these new CAM technologies. These projects, around the UK, will develop new solutions for a range of CAM applications and scenarios, and they will enable the companies behind these innovations to scale and grow.”
