Electrification Projects

At DG Cities we have gained in-depth expertise on electrification through participation in innovation projects and client work:

The eRCV Projects

The eRCV projects are funded in collaboration with Innovate UK and have explored electrification of commercial vehicles, with eRCV I (Electric Refuse Collection Vehicle) repowering an end-of-life diesel vehicle from the Royal Borough of Greenwich’s fleet, to run with an electric engine and hydraulics system.

The result? The first electric-powered, zero-emission 26-tonne Refuse Collection Vehicle in the UK.

eRCV II  was led by MagTec with consortium partners DG Cities, Veolia, MicroLise, Sheffield and Westminster Council.  The project built on the success of eRCV I and repowered a further four end-of-life Refuse Collection Vehicles to be fully-electric. The vehicles were trialled in two demanding real-world environments - a densely populated urban area (Westminster Council) and an urban/rural, hilly area (Sheffield Council).

Across both projects, our role was to build the case for mass exploitation of the vehicle and its technology, incorporating environmental and social benefits into the business case for repower; you can read our report here. We have also capitalised on our involvement in relevant city networks and standards groups to commercially exploit the project to new customers and sectors. 

Birchmere

Through our experience gained in these projects we have now been commissioned to help the Royal Borough of Greenwich explore the potential to electrify their full commercial fleet of 550 vehicles.

We are working with Imperial College London and using modelling and digital simulation techniques to understand how EV utilisation can be increased, whilst being mindful of grid capacity and spatial constraints at the depot.

Read more about our Electrification projects by clicking on the images below: