TRL and MIRA join forces to cut emissions, improve safety and develop the market for low carbon vehicles, and announce a joint research project.

The partnership combines MIRA’s low carbon vehicle and system engineering, as well as its testing expertise, with TRL’s world-leading vehicle safety engineering, accident investigation and driver behaviour research and consultancy experience.

Working together, the partnership aims to help innovators, systems developers and manufacturers in the private sector, as well as international, local and regional Governments to identify and solve potential safety issues in the growing low carbon and low emission vehicle sectors.

Dr Anthony Baxendale, MIRA’s advanced engineering and research manager, said: “I am pleased to announce our first joint research project to identify future vehicle concepts, assess their safety, environmental and business risks, and map out the challenges and opportunities for the industry going forward.

“With the enormous pressure to roll-out new technologies like battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids to the mass market as fast as possible, to reduce road transport’s environmental impact, it’s vital that all the potential risks are anticipated, understood and mitigated early, before they are able to undermine business and consumer confidence.”