Oxford City Council begins fleet electrification
In England, Oxford City Council has received the first six electric vehicles ordered as part of its Energy Superhub Oxford project. A further 27 battery-electric vehicles, including cars, a street sweeper, an excavator and mix of different sized vans, should be delivered over the next 3-4 months.
Oxford City Council aims to electrify 25% of its 330 vehicle fleet by 2023 with their Energy Superhub Oxford project. The project represents a collaboration between Oxford City Council and Pivot Power, as well as Habitat Energy, Invinity Energy Systems, Kensa Contracting and the University of Oxford. Together they will also build and test a 50 MW hybrid battery system “to support the acceleration of Oxford’s electric vehicle charging capacity and fleets, and to power ground-source heat pumps for residential properties”.
The £41m-project was initially announced in April 2019. The project received £10m from the government’s Prospering from the Energy Revolution Challenge – of which Oxford City Council was awarded £1,615,169 for its role in the project. Other measures included in the fund also intend to speed up electrification, such as a “try before you buy” scheme with Hackney Carriage drivers, which allows drivers to test either a Nissan Dynamo or a LEVC for a one or two-week period. As a harsher measure, cab drivers will only be issued new licenses as of 2025 if they have a “zero-emission capable cab”.
Councillor Tom Hayes, cabinet member for Zero Carbon Oxford at Oxford City Council said: “Energy Superhub Oxford gives Oxford strengths that no other city currently has: the world’s most powerful charging network and the world’s largest ever hybrid battery, and as a result, we can accelerate our electric vehicle charging infrastructure for businesses and residents.”
Further measures in the project are aimed at providing charging infrastructure, which is where Pivot Power comes in: they will build a charging network capable of delivering up to 25MW of power. The existing public charging facilities at Redbridge Park & Ride will also be linked directly to National Grid’s high voltage transmission network, in a first step of building a smart grid.
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