Nottingham City Council declared a Climate Emergency in January 2020 alongside an ambitious commitment to become the first Carbon Neutral city in the UK by 2028, supported by the launch of the 2028 Carbon Neutral Charter and Action Plan. Transport, renewable energy generation and reducing consumption are key themes in the action plan and large-scale transformation in these areas will be critical in meeting our deadline for Carbon Neutrality; 22 years ahead of central government policy.
Nottingham City Council is committed to sourcing and implementing innovation in order to meet our objectives, facilitated through strong partnerships. EV-elocity provides an exciting opportunity for collaboration with other sector leaders. The project will contribute to ongoing work to decarbonise our fleet operations and buildings, supporting our “Depot of the Future” demonstrator, which will include:
- Vehicle-2-Grid and optimised EV charging,
- The world’s first trial of OEM electric RCVs,
- Electric cage-tippers, sweepers and other operational vehicles,
- Wireless taxi charging,
- The UK’s first Local Authority managed Electric Vehicle Servicing Centre,
- As well as Solar PV and Battery storage.
By piloting this range of technology at Eastcroft Depot, EV-elocity will facilitate a sector-leading demonstration of innovative low carbon transport and energy technology.
Blog by Laura Chippendale, Senior Energy Project Officer leading on the EV-elocity project within Nottingham City Council
The Project EV-elocity is part of the Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) competition, funded by the Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV), in partnership with Innovate UK, part of UK Research and Innovation.
In January 2018, OLEV and BEIS announced that 21 projects (8 feasibility studies, 5 collaborative research and development projects, and 8 real-world v2g trial projects) were to receive funding of £30m to develop the business proposition and the core technology to support Vehicle 2 Grid deployment in the UK, including its demonstration with large scale trials.
The projects involve more than 50 industrial partners and research organisations from both the Energy and Automotive sector, marking the largest and most diverse activities on V2G in the world, and trialling more than 1,000 vehicles and V2G charger units across UK.
The V2G projects represent a significant step towards the transition to a low carbon transportation and a smart energy system. Allowing EVs to return energy to the Power Grid when parked and plugged for charging, will increase Grid resilience, allow for better exploitation of renewable sources and lower the cost of ownership for EV owners, leading to new business opportunities and clear advantages for EV users and energy consumers.
Great photos! Love the idea of a Depot of the Future!