Earlier this week, the government announced a new £7 million fund to help small and medium sized businesses to develop more efficient solutions for freight, boosting innovation and decarbonising the sector.

The freight sector underpins our economy and keeps Britain moving so it is crucial we invest in new innovations that make the sector fit for the future. 

That is why the government are committing £7 million through our Freight Innovation Fund to 36 small and medium-sized enterprises to develop innovations to make freight more efficient, resilient and greener – including work to decarbonise the sector.  They will then work with industry-leading companies to develop innovations to make freight more efficient, resilient and greener, such as ways to improve how freight moves between rail, road and maritime transport.

By giving innovators the opportunity to test their ideas, the fund aims to help SMEs roll out new technology and ways of working to unlock potentially huge efficiencies and emissions reductions across the sector. This can include how to organise containers better so they can be more easily broken up for the final part of their journey or how to improve links between rail, maritime and road transport.