The UK Government has announced funding for projects developing autonomous vehicles across public transport, construction, airports and highway maintenance.
The funding comes through the Connected and Automated Mobility (CAM) Pathfinder programme, with nine projects receiving support through the first CAM Pathfinder: Enable and Demonstrate competitions.
One of the projects is the expansion of the Connector autonomous bus service in Cambridge, which has completed more than 2,000 journeys across around 700 miles of public road since launching in June 2025.
The Commercialising Connector project is being led by Cambridgeshire County Council in partnership with Alexander Dennis, Anthrometric Solutions, Coriva, Fusion Procession and Whippet Coaches. It will build on the existing service and work towards progressing the technology and vehicles from Level 3 to Level 4 autonomy.
The trial is scheduled to continue until June 2027 and will examine the wider benefits of deploying connected and automated mobility technology on public roads.
The programme also includes a further seven technical demonstrator projects covering applications including airport operations, highway maintenance and passenger-carrying vehicles.
Aurrigo is leading the Airside Sentry project, in partnership with Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG) and with oversight from the Civil Aviation Authority. The consortium will develop and test an autonomous vehicle in controlled environments before carrying out trials in operational conditions at Teesside Airport.
Nissan and WMG are also leading ADventure, which aims to develop a city-ready autonomous mobility service model for commercial deployment in urban environments.
Other projects will investigate technologies supporting autonomous vehicle deployment. These include automated highway maintenance vehicles, autonomous vehicle braking systems, photorealistic simulation for Level 4 vehicles and new approaches to vehicle perception.
The funding also covers a project led by Flannery and Gravis Robotics to develop an autonomous earthmoving system across six excavators. The system will be designed to support applications including trenching, bulk excavation and truck loading.
The projects are intended to support the development and commercial deployment of connected and automated mobility technologies across different sectors and regions.
Industry Minister Blair McDougall said:Britain’s autonomous vehicle sector is world-class, and with our Modern Industrial Strategy we’re bringing business and science together to support the innovators and businesses who are shaping the future of transport.
By backing these cutting-edge technologies with the funding to scale up we’re helping this innovative sector to drive growth and jobs in every part of the UK, and I want to congratulate all the winners on their success and their role in reinforcing Britain’s leadership in this fast-growing industry.
CAM Pathfinder forms part of the Government’s Industrial Strategy Advanced Manufacturing Sector Plan and is intended to support the growth of the UK’s connected and automated mobility industry.
The programme is delivered by the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade (BIST) in partnership with Zenzic and Innovate UK.
