The winners of a £20 million programme to cut vehicle emissions and improve air quality have been unveiled.

A total of 20 companies will share the funding under the Low Emission Freight and Logistics Trial for innovative ways to deploy low and zero emission vehicles.

Winning projects include a scheme to increase battery range for electric vehicles, trials using innovative hydrogen dual fuel technology, smart charging for electric vans and biogas lorries.

The cash will help fleets get their new vehicles on the roads from mid-2017 onwards.

The freight industry is said to account for around 30% of the UK’s CO2 transport emissions.

Transport Minister John Hayes said: “Each one of these successful projects will help cut vehicle emissions, improving air quality and reducing pollution in towns and cities.

“This is yet another important step towards this government’s commitment to reduce carbon emissions from transport to help tackle climate change.”

The funding is being delivered by the Office for Low Emission Vehicles and Innovate UK.

From September 2017, new types of diesel cars on UK roads will have to meet more stringent Euro 6 emission limits, which will be further tightened in early 2020.