Road to success: Northern Ireland firm pledges £25million to expand its R&D capabilities and boost green transport, creating dozens of jobs
Ballymena-headquartered bus manufacturer Wrightbus’ new funding aims to accelerate the next generation of electric and hydrogen-powered buses
Ballymena-headquartered bus manufacturer Wrightbus has pledged £25m to expand its R&D capabilities and boost green transport in a move that could create dozens of jobs.
Wrightbus' new funding aims to accelerate the next generation of electric and hydrogen-powered buses.
During a visit to the company’s Northern Ireland headquarters, science secretary Peter Kyle hailed the planned investment.
Kyle said: "Investing in innovation is central to our Plan for Change, but public investment alone is not enough to ensure British businesses remain at the cutting edge of global industries.
"Wrightbus is proof that businesses backing R&D deliver real-world impact – for both the company themselves and the local region - creating new high-quality jobs, strengthening supply chains across sectors and delivering the new industries of the future.
"Wrightbus' investment will not only boost growth in Northern Ireland. It will help to accelerate the UK's transition to net zero and our mission to become a clean energy superpower while keeping our economy competitive on the global stage."
The £25m investment will be used to develop zero-emission vehicles, support UK businesses that provide the parts and technology needed to build them and enhance advanced testing capabilities. Funding includes:
£10m to develop what is hoped to be the world's most efficient double-deck and single-deck electric bus, the Wrightbus StreetDeck Electroliner. It can travel up to 200 miles on a single charge and recharge in just 2.5 hours.
£5m to develop the UK's first hydrogen-powered coach due for release within 18 months.
£5m for product validation using the UK's most advanced proving grounds.
£5m for a 'world-class' telematics system – an advanced vehicle monitoring system that collects real-time performance data to operators.
The company posted a record-breaking year of orders in 2024 which it is on track to exceed this year, increasing production from 1,016 to 1,200 with plans to reach 1,400 by 2026.
It builds on its £500m deal with Go-Ahead in 2023 which secured more than 1,000 zero-emission bus orders, creating 500 jobs in Ballymena and supporting 7,500 jobs across the UK.
Chief executive Jean-Marc Gales said: "It was a pleasure to showcase our R&D progress to the secretary of state. This investment represents our largest amount ever into research and development and it underlines our ambition to continue to be one of the very best zero-emission manufacturers in the UK and Europe.
"Innovation has played a key part in the rapid growth of Wrightbus and is one of the major things that has allowed us to switch from having a 95 per cent diesel bus output to a 95% zero-emission bus output in less than five years.
"The research projects we're currently funding, including the development of our hydrogen coach, the further enhancement of the world-leading Electroliner bus, and our telematics system, will allow us to continue to push zero-emission transport boundaries and represents a huge boost for manufacturing in Northern Ireland and the wider UK."