Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of promoting the use of (a) copper indium gallium selenide technology and (b) other solar panels on commercial vehicles to provide a lightweight means of maintaining a charge in batteries used to power (i) tail lifts, (ii) refrigerated units and (iii) ancillaries; and if he will make a statement.

No such assessment as yet been made. However, we are supporting vehicle manufacturers, technology companies and academia to put the UK at the forefront of the design, manufacture and use of zero emission vehicles. We will be providing nearly £500 million in R&D and capital support through Automotive Transformation Fund (ATF) over the next four years. This will help to secure the transformation of the automotive sector at pace by developing and embedding the next generation of cutting-edge automotive technologies in the UK.

The Government welcomes any innovative thinking and technology that assist with our ambitions to support the transition to zero emission road transport. We have today announced the winners of a further £20m of grant funding for promising electric vehicle innovation. One of the projects that is being supported is a solar panel powered refrigeration unit.