World’s biggest commercial electric vehicle project to start in 2019

The world’s biggest trial of commercial electric vehicles (EVs) has been given the green light by UK energy regulator Ofgem, bringing together leading power, technology, fleet and transport companies to test and implement the best approaches for the EV rollout for commercial enterprises.

The three-year innovation project, 'Optimise Prime', will come up with practical ways of overcoming the up-front costs that are currently holding back many large commercial vehicle operators from making the switch to EVs. The project is led by a global data technology solutions provider, and also involves electricity distributors and vehicles from fleets of various companies, including a private hire company.

The project will deliver an end-to-end overview of what the switch to EVs means for the cables and substations that deliver electricity to the community, for the businesses that need to invest in new infrastructure, and for the end users that need to power their vehicles. It is intentionally vehicle agnostic and includes depot, home, and on-the-road charging scenarios.

Using large, real-life datasets and 'Internet of Things' technologies, the project will create a detailed picture of the demands of electric fleets and electric private hire vehicles. This will make it possible to develop solutions that cut the cost of owning and running electric vehicles, such as charging EVs outside of the electricity network’s peak times.

Electric vehicle technology has now reached a maturity where the vehicles themselves are ready for day-to-day and long-distance commercial use. However, replacing combustion engines as the energy source for transport was not something the electricity grid was designed for, whether charging happens in concentrated locations — such as depots — or is widespread at employees’ homes or in public places.

Electricity network operators, meanwhile, need to have a better understanding of the impact of EVs on the country’s electricity grid. They are also looking to understand whether EVs can support the electricity network and help keep costs low for customers by discharging during peak times and recharging off-peak.

The success of the project is also vital for meeting national carbon reduction targets. The accelerated adoption of commercial EVs could save 2.7m tonnes of CO2, equivalent to London’s entire bus fleet running for four years[1] or a full Boeing 747-400 travelling around the world 1,484 times[2]. The flexibility provided by the project will also free up enough capacity on the electricity network to supply a million homes[3]. 

In the UK, electric cars and vans must increase from 1.7% of new car sales today to 60% by 2030[4]. Around 3 000 electric vehicles will take to the roads in Greater London as part of the project to gather vital information that will help the UK to prepare for and speed up the transition to a greener and more efficient future.

The project will be launched early in 2019. Following a programme design and build phase, the first Optimise Prime vehicles will be on the road during the second half of 2019. The test area will include a range of urban, suburban and rural scenarios across the South East, South Central and East of England. To help the wider industry prepare, the largest cross-industry datasets on commercial EV charging and use will be shared openly.

The project will be funded with £18 provided by the partners, and an additional £16.6 million will come from Ofgem via its Network Innovation Competition. Ofgem’s funding will deliver total savings of more than £200 million – equivalent to 12 times the funded amount – in benefits to UK electricity customers.

[1] The TfL bus fleet in London emits 650,000 tCO2 each year. Source: Cutting Carbon from the London Bus Fleet presentation by Finn Coyle, Environmental Manager (Transport Emissions) for TfL:  https://tinyurl.com/y7whshug

[2] Based on Earth circumference at equator and 101g of CO2 produced per passenger per km flown: http://www.carbonindependent.org/sources_aviation.html

[3] Based on projections that the project could release 1.9GVA of capacity by 2030

[4] Table 5.2; Reducing UK Emissions, Committee for Climate Change https://tinyurl.com/y74w9sbo

Press release first released on 30th November 2018: http://news.ssen.co.uk/news/all-articles/2018/november/optimise-prime.