GRIDSERVE leads £100m eHGV project to decarbonise freight
Despite making up less than 6% of road traffic, HGVs account for 19% of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions from road transport, which in turn comprise 24% of the nation’s entire greenhouse gas emissions,
If the 400,000 Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) on UK roads today were transferred to electric HGVs, 18.6 metric tons of CO2e — the same as powering two million homes for a year — could potentially be saved.
GRIDSERVE, the UK based company powering the infrastructural transition to EV, is leading a government-backed consortium to help decarbonise the UK’s road freight sector.
“It is possible — electric HGVs will leave diesel in the rear view mirror, and we will prove it,” says Toddington Harper, GRIDSERVE CEO.
“The race has started.”
Financing the future of sustainable hauling
All new HGVs will be zero emission by 2040.
To meet this deadline, GRIDSERVE is leading the charge to lay the foundations for one of the biggest and most advanced charging networks designed specifically for electric Heavy Goods Vehicles (eHGVs).
The project is due to cost over £100m, including £62.7m in support from the UK Government as part of the Department for Transport and Innovate UK-backed Zero Emission HGV and Infrastructure Demonstrator programme — although GRIDSERVE are referring to it as ‘Electric Freightway’.
The bespoke network of EV charging infrastructure across motorway service areas, truck stops and commercial depots will be developed through 33 Consortium Partner and Member companies, as well as the utilisation of a 140+ strong fleet of the latest eHGVs, and the project will run until 2030.
Charging infrastructure at the heart of EV uptake
GRIDSERVE has committed to install over 200 High Power chargers across key motorway service areas and more than 10 commercial depot charging locations — with at least two 1 megawatt capacity High Power chargers — within the first two years.
“The big issue so far has been people saying you need an electric truck to have the same 500-mile range as a diesel vehicle,” explains Harper.
“To do so, that would mean you’d need an enormous battery, which would mean you wouldn’t have the ability to transport the same amount of payload. However, that mindset changes if you’re able to charge that battery very quickly.”
The eHGVs average around 1kWh of electricity used for every mile travelled, but under EU laws, HGV drivers must not exceed 4.5 hours of driving without taking a 45-minute break. GRIDSERVE’s plan is to provide truck drivers with the most powerful EV chargers for these 45-minute windows, ensuring that they don’t need to change behaviours.
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