Greenwich Fleet Electrification
Fleet Electrification Feasibility Study and Strategy
A consultancy project delivered for the fleet management team at the Royal Borough of Greenwich. Project ‘Birchmere’ was funded through the Sharing Cities programme and was supported by Imperial College London.
The aim was to identify how best to support the team in their ambition to electrify their fleet of vehicles, the third largest local authority fleet in the London boroughs.
“To achieve a 100% electric fleet, it is important to look at the problem holistically.”
The role of DG Cities
We undertook a full assessment of the vehicle depots and identified 2 key barriers to EV deployment: limited space and local grid capacity, both which limited the scope to deploy charging points at the depot. Instead, a more lateral approach was identified to understand how the fleet could be electrified.
Working with Imperial College London, we used modelling and simulation techniques to understand and identify how to optimise both the allocation of electric vehicles to drivers at the depot, and their charging scenarios (based on factors such as state of charge, availability of charging space at the depot, presence of chargepoints en route during the day and of course, the expected length of journey). We also undertook a behavioural insight study with fleet drivers, to understand their attitudes and operational requirements. These insights were then fed into the development of strategies.
The project outputs are being used as the basis for the council’s future fleet electrification. The options identified will be further researched and integrated into a Delivery plan, allowing Greenwich to transition its fleet to fully electric before 2030.
Why is this work important?
Reducing CO2 emissions is a focus for local authorities across the country, to meet the net-zero commitments made by national and local governments. Fleets (and transportation in general) are a significant contributor to emissions, therefore needs to feature as a key element in all zero-carbon strategies.
To achieve a 100% electric fleet, it is important to look at the problem holistically, and address the challenge by looking at fleet vehicles, depot(s) and operational requirements all together. Following this methodology, it is possible to reduce the costs of electrification, improve the sustainability of the depots and implement a more resilient and efficient operation that suits EV use.
“Reducing CO2 emissions is a focus for local authorities across the country, to meet the net-zero commitments made by national and local governments. ”