Cheltenham-based product design agency Duku has won a slice of £20m funding to help bring the world of zero emission electric vehicles one step closer.

Announced by Transport Minister Grant Shapps, the Duku project is one of 31 that is being funded by the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV) in partnership with Innovate UK.

With the grant totalling £271,924, Duku in collaboration with mobility consultancy Urban Foresight will develop a new EV charge point which will be more accessible to older drivers and those with disabilities.

Duku director, Andrew Aylesbury said: "We'll be working with another of our existing partners, Dundee City Council, to explore and trial prototype designs, with the goal of coming up with a tried-and-tested charge point that can be taken to the full production stage.

"It's a great opportunity for us to build on the work we have already done with the council, Motability and leading disability sector experts to make EV charge points more accessible for all, and we're delighted to be part of the latest OZEM and Innovate UK drive towards powering up the EV transport revolution."

Work on the new project research will start in August this year and take around eight months to complete.

The OZEM and Innovate UK funding is aimed at finding technologies that will help the UK transition to a world where all new cars and vehicles will be zero emission by 2035.

Winning projects address everything from smoothing the process of buying a second-hand EV and rural charging, through to improving vehicle range and charge point accessibility.

Clare Pennington, project manager at Urban Foresight added: "We're excited to be working with Duku and partners, building on our previous accessibility projects in the UK.

"It's essential that the roll out of EV charging infrastructure is accessible, not just to ensure that the government is able to meet it's climate change ambitions but to enable all members of our communities to benefit from the advantages that electric vehicle ownership brings."

For more information about Duku, visit https://www.duku.co.uk, call 01242 697666 or email info@duku.co.uk.