The UK Government has announced £2.5 million of funding to increase the range of vehicle retrofit technologies that can help reduce emissions from larger road vehicles.

It will support testing of new technologies for the Clean Vehicle Retrofit Accreditation Scheme (CVRAS), which has been developed by the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership (LowCVP) and administered by the Energy Saving Trust.

The funding is part of the government’s wider plans to improve air quality and tackle climate change.

Commercial vehicles such as vans, trucks and buses are said to be responsible for 38% of total carbon emissions and more than 50% of nitrogen oxides emitted by road transport.

Andy Eastlake, LowCVP’s Managing Director said: “We need a multi-faceted approach to tackling air pollution. This initiative is an important step to help clean more of the current fleet whilst we wait for the penetration of ULEVs to increase.

“Retrofit is a key element of the overall package and will enable innovative solutions to be brought forward which can make a real difference to air quality in the short and medium term.”