Industry lead
Hitachi is a leading global technology company committed to bringing about social innovation. It has a long and successful track record delivering thought leadership and technology solutions in the energy and transport sectors. Hitachi will lead the Project with a team highly experienced in energy networks and infrastructure; energy forecasting; business models and data analysis; state of the art technologies and platforms. Hitachi design, build and operate the core platform that will be used to store and process the various data streams from the trials.
Network partners
Lead DNO partner
UK Power Networks will support Hitachi in the running and governance of the Project, guiding the Project to ensure that it delivers the required benefits to the distribution network. UK Power Networks will also provide consulting services throughout all the workstreams, including feasibility studies for sites and connections, engineering expertise and knowledge dissemination support.
DNO partner
SSEN will provide network data to increase the geographical footprint of the project. SSEN bring strong experience of working on EV-focused projects, including the third party led My Electric Avenue LCNF project.
Trials partners
Fleet and technology partner
Centrica’s home-based British Gas fleet will participate in the home-charging trial. Centrica will also provide charging solutions for the home-based fleets as well as demand response services from its subsidiary, REstore. Centrica’s British Gas fleet operate the third largest commercial fleet in the UK, including 13,000 maintenance vans which are predominantly kept at home by drivers. This project is expected to help Centrica transition 150% more vehicles than they had originally planned over the next three years by making the transition to electric more cost-effective than diesel.
Fleet partner
Royal Mail is the Optimise Prime depot charging fleet partner, providing access to its vehicles and depots for the purpose of the Project. Royal Mail provides postal delivery and courier services throughout the UK. It manages the largest vehicle fleet in the UK with over 48,000 vehicles based at 1,700 delivery offices. National and local emissions regulations mean that Royal Mail must transition to an Ultra-Low Carbon vehicle fleet. The company also expects to realise environmental and economic benefits from the switch to alternative fuels. Through this Project and by working with the Optimise Prime consortium, Royal Mail aims to identify solutions (technical, operational and commercial) to transition to EVs at scale faster and more cost effectively.
PHV operator partner
Uber is the fastest growing private hire vehicle (PHV) operator in the UK. Over 70,000 partner-drivers use the app in the UK, with the majority in and around London. The company has ambitious electrification plans for its most popular private hire product (UberX) in London. Uber plans to transition the London based UberX drivers operating on its app to electric vehicles by 2025.
Fleet management partner
Novuna Vehicle Solutions (formerly Hitachi Capital Vehicle Solutions) has been delivering vehicle leasing and fleet management services for over 30 years and in that time have won numerous awards for innovative solutions, expertise and customer first approach. Novuna is committed to a cleaner, more efficient future and helps UK drivers and fleet operators get the best from their vehicles. The company aims to run a 100% carbon neutral fleet by 2030.
