First Bus is offering third-party commercial fleets shared access to charging facilities at its depots, as part of its new partnership with Paua.
The Paua Share collaboration will allow business fleet customers – including operators of larger commercial vehicles – to access 11 additional depot charging locations equipped with ultra-rapid EV chargers, ranging from 150kW to 350kW speeds, all backed by renewable power.
Paua Share was developed following an Innovate UK-funded project, which saw Paua work with Cenex, Suffolk County Council and Oxfordshire County Council to develop the mechanisms for depot sharing, successfully deploying this with several partners across sites in these regions.
The process begins with matchmaking a fleet with a depot.
Then the fleet agrees any required sharing terms with the depot, including areas such as site health and safety, access hours or specific site rules.
Once this has happened, drivers can then navigate to the site with dedicated information in the Paua app, arrive at the site and charge with their Paua card or app.
Niall Riddell, CEO and co-founder of Paua, said: “This partnership once again illustrates Paua’s leadership position.
“We envisage a Europe-wide network of shared depots as we build Europe’s lowest-cost commercial fleet charging network.”
Faizan Ahmad, director of decarbonisation at First Bus, said: “Sharing depot infrastructure unlocks enormous potential for commercial fleets, accelerating the shift to zero-emission transport while making smarter use of existing assets.
“First Bus are proud to have been pioneers in this space and further innovation and collaboration, as showcased here by our partnership with Paua, are key to building a truly integrated, low-carbon transport network.”
