Low emission freight and logistics trial competition winners announced
Winners of £20 million funding in Low Emission Freight and Logistics Trial announced.
Vans will go electric and lorries will run on hydrogen dual-fuel under a £20 million government programme to cut emissions and improve air quality, Transport Minister John Hayes announced today (11 January 2017).
The funding, announced at the Sustainable Road Transport Conference, in central London, is being given to 20 firms who set out plans for innovative ways to deploy low and zero emission vehicles.
The freight industry accounts for about 30% of the UK’s CO2 transport emissions and the money will help fleets get their new vehicles on the roads from mid-2017 onwards.
Transport Minister John Hayes said:
Each one of these successful projects will help cut vehicle emissions, improving air quality and reducing pollution in towns and cities.
This is yet another important step towards this government’s commitment to reduce carbon emissions from transport to help tackle climate change.
We are already making headway through our investment in low emission vehicles, greener public transport and walking and cycling, as well as grants for innovative advanced biofuels projects.
The funding is being delivered by the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) and Innovate UK.
The aim of the competition is to demonstrate new technologies and to encourage the widespread introduction of low and zero emission vehicles to UK fleets.
Innovate UK’s Manufacturing and Materials Director Simon Edmonds said:
These 20 projects around the UK will spearhead the uptake of the next generation of innovative low emission freight and fleet vehicles.
The impact will benefit the environment, particularly in our big cities.
It builds on the results of previous low carbon projects with OLEV, and the data collected from this new trial will be invaluable to future development and commercialisation of these vital technologies.
The programme will help the UK meet its CO2 reduction targets – and represents another step towards the government’s target for all new cars and vans to be zero emission by 2040.
There were over 40 applications for the scheme – and the winners include a scheme to increase battery range for electric vehicles.
A partnership led by ULEMco from Liverpool will receive £1.31 million to carry out trials using innovative hydrogen dual-fuel technology, and UPS will get £1.33 million to invest in smart charging of its electric vans which run in central London.
Air Liquide Group receives the largest amount of funding - £2.57 million – for its project trialling biogas in 86 lorries ranging from 26 tonnes to 44 tonnes. In addition, 5 refrigeration units will use a prototype liquid nitrogen system.
The government is firmly committed to improving the UK’s air quality and cutting harmful emissions, that is why we have committed more than £2 billion since 2011 to increase the uptake of ultra low emission vehicles and support greener transport schemes.
From September 2017, new types of diesel cars on UK roads will have to meet more stringent Euro 6 emissions limits, and these limits will tighten further in early 2020. In addition, in the Autumn Statement, we announced a further £290 million to support electric vehicles, low emission buses and taxis, and alternative fuels.
Stream 1 projects
| Lead company | Project summary | Type of technology | Government investment (£m) | Total project spend (£m) | Number of vehicles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ULEMCo Ltd (Liverpool) | This project will trial a range of vehicles with hydrogen dual-fuel technology (H2ICED®). | Hydrogen | 1.31 | 1.71 | 9 |
| Tevva Motors (Chelmsford) | A fleet wide pilot to prove new battery range extending technology and develop a universal battery cassette. | Batteries | 1.1 | 2 | 15 |
| Air Liquide Group (Kingston-upon-Thames) | This project will trial gas HGVs ranging from 26 tonne to 44 tonne. Biogas will be introduced during the project. In addition 5 refrigeration units will use a prototype liquid nitrogen system. | Gas | 2.57 | 4.93 | 86 |
| UPS Limited (Feltham) | The project will design, tender and implement an innovative smart charging system that, together with an energy storage system, will allow UPS to exceed the current maximum number of vehicles to be charged in a depot. | Electric | 1.33 | 2.6 | 30 |
| Gnewt Cargo (Southwark) | Gnewt proposes to lease 33 electric vehicles to perform last-mile logistics. | Electric | 1.11 | 1.65 | 33 |
| G-volution Plc (Newport) | The consortium will demonstrate 15 dual fuel (diesel/methane) road vehicles. Innovation is demonstrated in 3 main areas, 1) Engine Combustion control, 2) Computer based engine modelling and 3) new super efficient methane catalysts. | Gas | 0.82 | 1.35 | 15 |
| Magnomatics Limited (Sheffield) | For this project, two 18t trucks will be trialled with Calor, demonstrating new Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle powertrains. | Hybrid | 1.26 | 1.92 | 2 |
| Kuehne + Nagel Ltd (Wellingborough) | A trial of both dedicated gas and direct injection dual-fuel methane/diesel trucks. The trucks will refuel with liquid biomethane, which is derived from wastes and is a sustainable and renewable fuel. | Gas and duel fuel | 1.05 | 1.89 | 29 |
| Kuehne + Nagel Ltd (Wellingborough) | Whitbread will operate four fully electric, two range extended electric and two liquid nitrogen-cooled refrigeration vehicles on temperature controlled transport routes. | Electric | 1.08 | 1.76 | 8 |
| Zapinamo Limited (Soho) | Zapinamo will trial movable, connected, power-boosting Electric Vehicle charging infrastructure using innovative hybrid Li-ion / Lithium-titanate batteries. | Electric | 1.58 | 2.22 | 20 |
| Lawrence David Limited (Peterborough) | This project will design, build and trial six demonstrator lightweight aerodynamic double-deck trailers. A range of lightweight features will be adopted, including novel composite decking and running gear. | Lightweight vehicles | 0.35 | 0.54 | 6 |
| CNG Fuels Limited (Solihull) | The Project will trial a significantly sized fleet of dedicated gas HGVs to demonstrate their suitability for large scale roll-out. | Gas | 1.96 | 3.25 | 43 |
| Howdens Joinery Group PLC (Northampton) | This project aims to evaluate the energy and emissions benefits of a kinetic energy recovery system for urban delivery vehicles, including both articulated and rigid vehicles. | Kinetic Energy Recovery System | 1.5 | 2.21 | 20 |
| Total | 17.02 | 28.03 | 316 |
Steam 2 projects
| Lead company | Project summary | Type of technology | Government investment (£m) | Total project spend (£m) | Number of vehicles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Advanced Fuel Technologies (Stroud) | The project will trial an on-vehicle system for enriching hydrocarbon fuels with hydrogen in a pressurised unit. | Hydrogen | 0.21 | 0.26 | 0 |
| TotalSim Ltd (Brackley) | The project will trial an Aerodynamic Configurator for Transport (ACT). HGV geometries submitted to ACT are assessed for aerodynamic efficiency under a range of real world conditions and drive cycles. Hauliers can deploy the most efficient configuration of truck/trailer to quickly benefit from reductions in fuel costs and emissions. | Aerodynaic Truck design | 0.39 | 0.56 | |
| Idox Software Ltd (trading as Cloud Amber) (Reading) | This project will trial a smartphone application which uses traffic signal data to transform fleet driver behaviour, encouraging them through gamification to drive in a more efficient manner. | Driver Behaviour | 0.41 | 0.69 | 12 |
| Tevva Motors Limited (Chelmsford) | The project will deliver two demonstration trucks using highly innovative electrical machines from Newcastle University and Nissan batteries. Activities, beyond this project are intended to put these components into production. | Electric | 1.08 | 1.33 | 2 |
| Wider Aspect Innovation Ltd (Glasgow) | This project will develop a fuel save system for large commercial vehicles by utilising the Coanda Effect to reduce aerodynamic drag. | Vehicle design | 0.17 | 0.29 | 2 |
| Arcola Energy (Dalston) | This project will develop an integrated zero emissions drivetrain for a light commercial van. | Electric | 0.36 | 0.54 | 0 |
| Magnetic Systems Technology Ltd (Sheffield) | MagTec proposes to repower a diesel refuse collection vehicle with an electric drive train and electric actuators for its hydraulic systems. | Electric | 0.47 | 0.62 | 1 |
| Totals | 3.09 | 4.29 | 517 |
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