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American multinational UPS said the breakthrough “signals the beginning of the end of a reliance upon traditional combustion engine-powered vehicles”. The company said the system will allow it to increase the number of EVs at its central London site from 65 to 170.
Developed with UK Power Networks and the Cross River Partnership (CRP), and funded by the Office for Low Emission Vehicles, the system uses newly-installed batteries to store electricity on site. A central server connects to each charging station, as well as the grid power supply and the batteries.
The server uses an “intelligent” approach to spread EV charging throughout the night, while ensuring the building has enough power for overnight logistics. By the time drivers arrive to start morning deliveries, each vehicle is fully charged but the system never exceeds the maximum power available from the grid.
The project is “a major turning point in the cost-effective deployment of electric vehicles,” said Peter Harris, UPS Europe director of sustainability. “We are applying new technology to make the charging process smarter and our delivery service cleaner.”
Putting EVs on the road will soon be cheaper than diesel vehicles, said UPS. The company hopes its initiative will help tackle air quality issues in London, which is frequently hit by illegal levels of pollution.
The system could one day use second-hand batteries recycled from UPS vehicles, making it even more sustainable, and the firm hopes to integrate local power sources such as solar panels.
“Our previous work on electric freight vehicles has shown that local grid infrastructure constraints are one of the main barriers to their large-scale uptake,” said Tanja Dalle-Muenchmeyer, programme manager of electric freight at CRP. “We need to find smarter solutions to electric vehicle charging if we want to benefit from the significant air quality and environmental benefits these vehicles offer, and we believe this is such a solution.”
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