DPD aiming for UK’s greenest van fleet but CEO says lack of electric vans and trucks is holding back transition. Parcel delivery firm DPD has agreed a deal with MAN Truck & Bus UK 100 eTGE electric vans. DPD says the agreement means will have the largest 3.5t electric van fleet in the UK and Read more…

EDF has acquired a majority stake in UK electric vehicle firm Pod Point. Under terms of the transaction, Legal & General, which held a 13 per cent stake in the company, will increases its share to 23 per cent. Pod Point has one of the UK’s largest charging networks, with customers including Tesco and Lidl. Read more…

Pod Point CEO Erik Fairbairn says UK on cusp of major electric vehicle boom, while EDF is reportedly moving closer to sealing a £110m deal for the firm French power giant EDF is on the cusp of sealing a deal for electric vehicle charging firm Pod Point, according to reports. Sky reported the two were Read more…

Considering a switch to electric vehicles, or planning to rollout charging infrastructure? Then register to attend The Energyst’s EV Event, 22-23 April at Silverstone – the UK’s only EV-dedicated fleet and business exhibition. The two day conference and exhibition provides a roadmap for businesses planning electric vehicle switches and charging infrastructure rollouts. Aimed at fleet, energy and Read more…

Britain’s first town served exclusively by electric buses will be appointed in 2021, as ministers unveiled a new tranche of funding for local authorities. However, manufacturers have urged both local and national policymakers to better align ambition and regulation to unlock investment in cleaner public transport. Yesterday transport minister Grant Schapps urged local councils to Read more…

Public electric vehicle charging operator Source London is to install a further 100 charge points this spring, and said it is on track to hit 3,000 charge points across the capital by the year end. Kingston Council in south west London is the latest of the network’s twenty partner boroughs. It struck a no-capex agreement Read more…

Government plans to bring forward the ban on sales of new petrol and diesel cars and vans to 2035. It will consult on bringing forward the ban, currently set at 2040, and now plans to include hybrids. MPs have urged government to be more ambitious about phasing out petrol and diesel cars, calling for a Read more…

Northern Powergrid has launched a tool that helps people see where they can install EV chargers quickly and at lowest cost. The grid operator said its AutoDesign software provides an indicative connection cost in minutes. The DNO spent £1.1m improving asset data and developing the tool because its connections department is facing “unprecedented pressure” from Read more…

Royal Mail is adding another 87 electric vehicles to its London fleet. The vans, Mercedes eVitos and Peugeot Partners, will arrive at the Mount Pleasant depot over the next two months. The vehicles will be used in the Optimise Prime project, a back-to-base smart charging project funded through Ofgem’s innovation allowance, which also involves Hitachi Read more…

Nottingham City Council is to trial wireless electric taxi chargers after receiving government funding. The trial, which involves the council, Cenex, Sprint Power, Shell, Parking Energy, Transport for London and Coventry University, aims to determine whether wireless technologies can speed up charging and help reduce congestion and clutter in city centres by enabling multiple vehicles Read more…

Islington Council can now run its town hall entirely off grid at peak times, using five Nissan ENV200 electric vans to provide power. Under a trial with energy technology firm Moixa and Honda’s energy management arm, the council aims to work out how electric vehicle (EV) smart charging and vehicle-to-grid technology can cut carbon and Read more…

Stronger incentives and new markets will be required to unlock potentially gigawatts of electric vehicle flexibility, according to a government-appointed taskforce. The call was among a number of recommendations in the EV Taskforce’s report, launched Tuesday. Proposals include making all private chargers ‘smart’ by default by next year, opening new flexibility markets by 2023 and Read more…

Eaton and Green Motion are touting bundled EV charging stations and battery storage for commercial sites. The two aim to sidestep UK grid constraints, which are likely to increase as electric vehicle penetration increases. Eaton said the system can also integrate with onsite generation, such as solar PV, using intelligent charging management to maximise consumption, Read more…

Hydrogen power firm AFC Energy has launched a rapid electric vehicle hydrogen fuel cell charger aimed at areas where grid capacity is constrained, or lacking entirely.  Firms installing rapid chargers nationwide have suggested around one in four sites are too constrained to accommodate infrastructure. Others have described finding suitable sites as akin to a game Read more…

UK Power Networks has pulled together details of vehicle-to-grid trials around the world at V2G Hub. The distribution network operator is involved in various EV trials exploring smart charging and flexibility, including Optimise Prime, which includes Royal Mail, Centrica and Uber fleets (though the DNO is still trying to recruit other participants). It is hoped Read more…

Distribution network operators Western Power Distribution and Electricity North West are working on plans to connect substations together in order to create on-street rapid electric vehicle charging hubs. Consultancy Ricardo is also involved in the £5.6m trial funded under Ofgem’s innovation scheme that allows DNOs to spend money to develop a smarter power system. Substations Read more…

A study involving Honda, Salford University, Good Energy and Upside Energy suggests vehicle-to-grid (V2G) revenues are eaten up by high hardware costs. As such, smart charging may deliver much of the available benefit for lower outlay – at least within domestic premises. The Haven trial looked at savings or revenues available to energy suppliers and Read more…

BMW is taking steps to work out how its electric vehicles could provide power back to the grid. The carmaker said it plans to start real world testing of i3 vehicles providing vehicle-to-grid (V2G) services in 2021. BMW will act as the lead party in a consortium that includes transmission system operator TenneT, distribution network Read more…