5 September 2023

Aurrigo International plc

Auto-Cargo development programme and pilot with major global logistics carrier

£482k UK Government grant to support pilot deployment of autonomous electric cargo vehicle at East Midlands Airport

Aurrigo International plc (AIM: AURR, the "Company" or "Aurrigo"), a leading international provider of transport technology solutions, announces a collaboration with one of the world's largest logistics companies, to develop Auto-Cargo, an autonomous electric vehicle designed to move heavy cargo loads to and from aircraft.

The project will receive £482,020 in grant funding from Innovate UK and the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV). The two companies will develop and pilot Auto-Cargo over a 14-month period from September 2023 at East Midlands Airport - the UK's second-largest cargo terminal.  If successful, it will then move to real-world driverless cargo movement operations with in-service aircraft.

Aurrigo's Auto-Cargo, which has been developed in concept form, is based on the Company's autonomous electric baggage tractor called Auto-DollyTug^®, which combines the capabilities of a baggage tractor, with the ability to also carry a standard Unit Load Device (ULD) baggage container.

Auto-Cargo has been designed to transport a combination of different sized cargo containers such as a standard full-size cargo pallet or two half-size aviation industry standard ULDs, up to a total load of 7.5 tonnes and to tow a further fully loaded 7.5 tonne cargo trailer behind it. This unique capability halves the length of a conventional baggage tractor and two trailer combination which is currently the industry standard, as well as being fully electric and emissions-free. 

The project aims to develop and deploy an electric vehicle which can not only improve air quality within the airport environment, but also bring operational efficiencies. The autonomous capability will enable the limited numbers of security-cleared cargo operators to have increased availability to perform higher level tasks with these vehicles and other roles around the airport.

David Keene, CEO of Aurrigo, commented:

"This collaboration is an exciting opportunity for us to grow into the air freight space, where there is huge demand for automation and better operating efficiencies as well as decarbonisation.

"We will work closely with our logistics partner to engineer Auto-Cargo around the tasks it needs to perform on the ground. Testing at the busy cargo hub at East Midlands Airport will enable us to develop the best autonomous electric vehicle for air freight operators."

Enquiries:

About Aurrigo

Aurrigo is a leading international provider of transport technology solutions. Headquartered in Coventry, UK, it designs, engineers, manufactures and supplies autonomous vehicles and OEM products to the automotive and transport industries, particularly focusing on aviation. It is highly regarded as a specialist in autonomous and semi-autonomous technology solutions for the aviation, ground handling and cargo industries. Aurrigo has developed six types of autonomous vehicle to date, which can be utilised to reduce costs, resolve operational issues and tackle labour shortages, whilst also improving sustainability. Aurrigo has three divisions, Automotive Technology, Autonomous Technology and Aviation Technology. For more information, see www.aurrigo.com

About CCAV

Autonomous Cargo is part of CCAV's Commercialising CAM Supply Chain Competition (CCAMSC). The Commercialising CAM programme is funded by the Centre for Connected and Automated Vehicles, a joint unit between the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) and the Department for Transport (DfT) and delivered in partnership with Innovate UK and Zenzic.

The £18.5m CCAMSC competition was launched in October 2022 to support the deployment of self-driving vehicles, by strengthening the capabilities of the sovereign UK CAM supply chain and is part of the Government's vision for self-driving vehicles. Connected and automated mobility 2025: realising the benefits of self-driving vehicles.