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April 11, 2022 In

Mahindra – Racing forward with Workplace Charging

 

Mahindra Racing – the ‘Greenest Team in Motorsport’ – is a founding team competing in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship. Formula E is the world’s first, all-electric street racing series and the closest, most competitive, and fastest-growing category in motorsport – but it’s more than just a race on track! It’s also the leading platform to test new technologies, drive development to the production line, and ultimately lead to more electric cars on the road. It helps to alter perceptions and accelerate the switch to electric too, in a bid to counteract the climate crisis and address the effects of air pollution.

Teams with an impeccable pedigree

Mahindra Racing has an impeccable pedigree. The team was crowned 2021’s Climate Champions at the end of the last ABB FIA Formula E season and was the first Formula E team (and only the second motorsport outfit in the world) to receive the top Three-Star FIA Sustainability Accreditation. The team also became the first FIA World Championship entrant to be certified as Net Zero Carbon Footprint from inception, and we were delighted when the business approached our own impeccable team, to help with their workplace charging requirements at their new UK headquarters in Banbury.

Clarifying requirements, technology, and funding

Mahindra wanted to make EV charging available to all staff and visitors, as well as to encourage the uptake of electrical vehicles. The need was an initial 6 chargers to cover current and short to medium term demand, with the view to expanding in future, and one of the reasons they selected Joju was that they also wanted to explore potential for roof top solar for their Banbury site, to help further decrease the carbon footprint of their premises.

At Joju, we are highly experienced in helping our workplace EV charging customers navigate the variety of funding options available. In Mahindra’s case, as the site and business were eligible for the OZEV Workplace Charging Scheme, we were able to administer this on their behalf to secure a £350 per socket contribution to the cost of the install.

Also, due to being technology agnostic as a business, we were able to recommend the best solution for the site, as well as for our client’s brand goals. As ABB is the principal sponsor of the Formula E Championship, the link to the product on this commercial site was a natural one. Together we examined the ABB product range and agreed the best products for the application – namely the ABB Terra AC 22kW Wallbox chargers. The ABB back-office solution also provides the perfect functionality for Mahindra Racing to monitor their use.

The installation

We carried out the full turnkey installation including all groundworks, installation of the EV charge points on posts, the electrical installation, testing and commissioning, all to the required client timescales.

We pride ourselves on our dedicated project management, technical expertise and flexibility and for Mahindra, we needed to ensure we connected into the existing electrical infrastructure on site, choosing the correct supply chain partner and making sure this happened at a convenient ‘out of hours’ timeframe for the client.

The reaction

Dilbagh Gill, Team Principal and CEO at Mahinda Racing said,

“We believe that ‘doing good’ goes beyond philanthropy and CSR. It is more than just random acts of kindness. It is a purpose, an attitude, and a way of life. As a team, we are committed to finding credible, advanced and next generation mobility solutions while being kind to the planet. Sustainability is not a buzz word for us; it is ingrained into our ethos and a big part of the reason we are racing in Formula E.

The installation of EV charging points at our facility here in Banbury is yet another step in our journey to drive this change towards electrification and it has been a pleasure to work with Joju, whose reputation and attitude aligns so well with our own passion. We are grateful for their guidance every step of the way, and look forward to their continued support as we continue to grow”.

It’s always great to get this kind of feedback and we look forward to working with Mahindra Racing in the future, to keep their workplace charging goals on track!

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Dennis Eagle, LBI Tipper, electric, Islington
July 19, 2021 In

Islington Council’s Electrified Fleet

Islington Council has been working hard to electrify its fleet – one of several measures to reduce vehicle emissions in the borough, tackle the climate emergency and achieve a net zero carbon Islington by the year 2030.

An e-first in the Capital

As part of their initiatives, the forward-thinking borough became the first in London to use two innovative, purpose-built, fully-electric refuse collection trucks. The 26-tonne Dennis Eagle ‘eCollect’ produces no exhaust emissions and is much quieter than conventional collection trucks, as well as being more environmentally friendly. After putting the truck charging infrastructure supply and install out to tender, they agreed Joju would be the perfect partner for the job.

We installed vehicle charging equipment at the Council’s Waste and Recycling Centre, including two ABB Terra 94 90kW rapid chargers for the electric refuse trucks, and three Alfen dual 22kW chargers as well.

No time to waste

There was no time to waste after that installation either, because the electrification of Islington’s entire fleet of almost 500 vehicles including cars, vans, school and community buses and street cleaners, is ongoing.

To support this, we also installed two Alfen single units and 3 Alfen dual units at The Laycock Centre. Three dual Alfen chargers are currently going in at 222 Upper Street and the installation of 18 dual units is in progress at Pritchard Court.

This work will help the Council provide the infrastructure for a fully electric fleet in the coming years and we will be operating and maintaining these units for an initial three-year period, with our partner Hubeleon.

The future

We are currently working with Islington Council to continue the design work for other sites, with a mixture of rapid and fast charger installations being planned.

The Council has also just announced the arrival of the borough’s first, fully electric cage tipper vehicles, with each vehicle saving approximately 1,600 litres of diesel per year, as work to fully electrify the council’s fleet continues. Six vehicles will be used in the borough and by the time they all arrive, 11% of the council’s fleet will be electric.

As Cllr Rowena Champion, Islington Council’s Executive Member for Environment and Transport, said:

“Creating a net-zero carbon borough by 2030 is one of the council’s leading priorities, and we know that achieving this will create a greener, cleaner, and fairer Islington for everyone.

“The ongoing electrification of our fleet will help to provide local people with cleaner air to breathe and tackle air pollution, which remains a major health emergency across London.

“Key to achieving our net-zero carbon ambition is working productively with partners in the local community, and our relationship with Joju is essential to our ongoing fleet electrification project.”

Our London office is just around the corner from the Council’s Cottage Road Waste and Recycling Centre and we’re proud to support the Council with its vision for a greener, healthier Islington.

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Southampton, road sweeper, wallbox, ABB
July 13, 2021 In

Southampton’s Electric Fleet and 25kW Wallbox

The UK Government has committed to achieving net zero carbon emissions by the year 2050. This has had a snowball effect on local government, with many councils committing to this same target by 2030. Southampton City Council is no exception.

 

The Road to Net Zero

In 2016, the council set out a Clean Air Strategy to run until 2025 – at which point another strategy will be produced. As part of this, the council has been meticulous in creating a clean air zone. Converting its fleet to electric vehicles and providing charging infrastructure for local residents and visitors to the area has been a key part of this plan. Joju has assisted Southampton with the installation of over 30 charge points across a number of council owned buildings and depots. However, it’s not just about volume. It’s important to install the right charger in the right place to operate a functional electric fleet.

 

The 25kW DC Wallbox

While the council largely installed AC fast charge points for small vans and fleet cars to charge overnight, they also wanted the ability to charge vehicles quickly, within an hour, at a ‘stop and go’ site. The council was cautious about installing a 50kW rapid charge point due to the size constraints of the allocated site and the available capacity on the existing supply within the building. Joju was able to provide a solution that was cheaper than a 50kW rapid charger, had the ability to recharge vehicles onsite within an hour and one that adhered to the dimensions and size constraints of the site.

The ABB 25kW DC Wallbox was installed using the existing supply in the building and on the wall of the building. This charge point has the capacity to recharge a battery from 20% to 80% (depending on battery size) within an hour, using either a CCS or CHAdeMO connector.

We were able to orchestrate the project for the council from the design phase, through surveying, installation and commissioning, and ongoing maintenance post-installation.

 

The Future

The council has ambitious targets to electrify its entire fleet of vehicles before 2030 and we hope to continue our longstanding relationship, helping the council to realise and achieve these goals.

There are ongoing fleet installations, and the council is currently looking at the demonstration of electric refuse collection vehicles. Further to this, the council is hoping to increase the provision of publicly accessible charging infrastructure throughout surface car parks.

 

Find out more

Discover more about our Public Sector EV approach

Read other Public EV Charging case studies

Hear Dr Chris Jardine share his thoughts on UK EV Infrastructure

 

Bitterne, rapid charger, taxi, fast charger, bay markings, ev only
October 14, 2019 In

Rapid Electric Car Chargers in Southampton

As part of their ongoing wider city council programme on clean transport to improve air quality; Southampton City Council have introduced their first rapid 50kW charging point for electric taxi usage at Lances Hill Car Park, in Bitterne Village. This charging station has the capacity to fully charge an Electric Vehicle in 15 to 30 minutes, depending on the Electric Vehicle’s capacity. This gives the council capacity for electric taxis to be able to charge their vehicle quickly in between journeys; making an incredibly efficient, low-carbon service for taxi and private hire vehicles. Increasing the availability of rapid charging stations around the city will incentivise an increase in the number of electric taxis within Southampton.

Why Rapid Charging?

Following a large roll-out by Southampton City Council of fast EV charging infrastructure throughout public car parks in the city, the council decided to initiate its rapid charging network for electric taxi and private hire use. By improving the accessibility of fast and rapid chargers around the city, the council hope to incentivise more taxis to make the switch to electric vehicles and contribute to the clean air strategy within the city. The initial motivation for Southampton City Council to install their first rapid charger was to incentivise the use of electric taxi and private hire vehicles within the city. Rob Gloyns, Air Quality Project Officer at Southampton City council says “through our Local NO2 Plan and Clean Air Strategy, we have put measures in place to upgrade taxis to cleaner vehicles over the next few years. The key issue we faced was that there was nowhere for the drivers to quickly charge their vehicle during their hours of operation. However, by providing the taxi trade with the infrastructure they need, we hope to see a large increase in the amount of electric taxis within Southampton”.

Southampton City Council are currently offering trials of electric taxis for local drivers, and hope this experience will provide extra information to employees within the taxi service in order to make the switch easier. The council are also offering monetary incentives to make the switch from older, more polluting taxis to low emission alternatives.

Installing rapid chargers

The key challenge with installing rapid chargers relates to the installation itself.  Because the units a very high-powererd, a new connection needed to be put in place, which the local network operator installed prior to Joju arriving on site.  The ABB rapid charger units are very large, weighing more than 250kg, and need to be craned into position.  Once in place, all that was needed was to wire the unit in; itself a major challenge due to the physical size of the wiring required.

Using Rapid Chargers

One of the smaller issues has been allocating the charge point to electric taxis only. To incentivise the trade to increase the amount of electric vehicles in operation in Southampton the charge point will be completely free for the taxis to use for an introductory period. Limiting the use to taxis as opposed to public use means that taxis won’t have to worry about the charging station not being available.

The council have also installed a 22kW fast charging dual socketed unit in the same car park which will enable two public vehicles to charge at the same time. This therefore enables the public to be able to use this car park as a charging point when in and around the city.

Conclusion

This is part of a city-wide programme to increase the availability fast and rapid charging stations. In the coming months Southampton City Council plan a more centrally based rapid charge to be installed. Outside of rapid charging, Southampton are looking at further fast chargers located around the city car parks. They will also be reviewing usage of the rapid chargers and hope to expand more in the future. With plans to trial electric vehicles for the taxi trade and the range of other supporting incentives the council fully expect the number of electric vehicles used in the service to increase over the next few years.

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