Berkeley Coachworks Selected for Freight Innovation Fund Accelerator
Electric trucks are heavy. Really heavy. And that weight eats into payload, range, and return on investment. That’s why Berkeley Coachworks has been selected to join the UK Government’s Freight Innovation Fund (FIF) Accelerator, backed by the Department for Transport (DfT) and delivered by Connected Places Catapult.
For us, this isn’t just recognition. It’s a chance to show how lightweight composite trailers can transform the economics of freight. Our carbon fibre and composite structures reduce trailer weight by up to 2 tonnes compared to steel equivalents. The result?
7.4% proven fuel savings (Cambridge CSRF data)
12 extra roll cages of payload on a single-deck trailer
Lower CO₂ emissions across long-haul routes
A faster path to EV-ready fleets
Why this matters
Electric trucks are here — but they’re heavy. Without lighter trailers, operators lose capacity, efficiency, and profit. By cutting the trailer weight, we give that payload back, enabling operators to get the most out of new EV technology.
This isn’t theory. It’s proven engineering. And now, with the support of the Freight Innovation Fund, we’ll be trialling our Berkeley Bulldog e-Trailer platform with industry partners, putting lightweighting at the heart of the freight transition.
Industry collaboration
This round of the FIF brings together 15 innovative SMEs, including leaders in electrification, AI, and blockchain. We’re proud to stand alongside names like KleanBus, OptimiseAI, Zizo, TaiSan, and Anteam. We will be working directly with our trial partners Welch Group to test the innovations we have developed for the Berkeley Bulldog e-Trailer and our Berkeley Aero Trailer. Many of these innovations will be available directly from Berkeley Composites as a wholesale provider to the haulage industry.
As Jamie Sands of Welch Group put it, this year’s accelerator is “an unprecedented level of involvement for an industry partner” — seven projects running at once, tackling freight’s toughest challenges.
And it’s not just the good and the polished that will be shared. As Chris Welch highlighted, this is about testing solutions in the real world — the messy, the unexpected, and the breakthroughs that change the industry.
A bigger vision
For Berkeley Coachworks and Berkeley Composites, this programme isn’t just about the trailers as a whole, it is about the numerous innovations we have included being tested iteratively, and individually. Through this we will be able to provide to the entire haulage industry, globally thereby proving that British manufacturing can lead the global transition to cleaner, more efficient freight.
We’re here to:
Cut fleet costs through efficiency and payload gains
Increase payload to support growing logistics demand
Reduce carbon with measurable CO₂ savings
Prepare for the EV-ready future of road transport
What’s next
If selected for the second round of this project, our trials begin in Q4 2025, with an open order book for fleets looking to integrate lightweighting solutions now.
The freight sector is under pressure to decarbonise, and innovation is no longer optional — it’s urgent. With the Freight Innovation Fund Accelerator, we’re accelerating real-world change.