An electric truck charging station that will potentially save 1,500 tonnes of CO2 a year has gone live at Nissan Sunderland Plant in north-east England.
The project is a first in the UK automotive industry, establishing an electric, end-to-end supply chain that transports materials into the Nissan plant and delivers finished vehicles out. The project is claimed to be the first on site private shared charging station of its kind in the UK.
The £1.4m facility has seven charging stations, capable of powering up to ten eHGVs simultaneously. It complements the plant's EV36Zero vision for sustainable manufacturing, bringing together electric vehicles, renewable energy and battery production.
Michael Simpson, VP supply chain management, Nissan AMIEO (Africa, Middle East, India, Europe & Oceania), said: "The charging station looks brilliant and is a big step forward in Nissan's EV360 vision, which brings together electric vehicles. zero carbon energy and battery manufacturing."
The station will support 60 UK eHGV deliveries to the plant daily and represents just the start of the plant's journey towards electrifying its supply chain. Simpson added: "We're exploring further opportunities to allow other hauliers to use the charging station as well as looking at other opportunities to maximise its full potential."
The charging station will support a fleet of 25 trucks with a charging capacity of up to 360kW. The trucks will collect parts from Nissan's UK supply base stretching as far afield as Derby; as well as delivering finished vehicles to and from the Port of Tyne. That equates to more than 2.4 million kilometers travelled per year, fully electrified, saving 1,500 tonnes of CO2 annually.
Bringing together Nissan, Fergusons, Yusen and BCA, the project is part of the Electric Freightway consortium that is transforming sustainable freight logistics through deployment of eHGVs and high-power charging infrastructure.
Led by EV charging network Gridserve, Electric Freightway forms part of the Zero Emission HGV and Infrastructure Demonstrator programme, funded by the UK Government and delivered in partnership with Innovate UK.
Gridserve CEO Daniel Kunkel said: "The decarbonisation of transport logistics is much stronger and reaches far wider when done in partnership.
"This is why, as leaders of the Electric Freightway consortium, we are so pleased to support this UK first with Nissan and their haulage partners. Depot charging is critical for the electrification of HGVs, going hand in hand with future public infrastructure developments.
"As a first shared usage site, this location is leading the way in sustainable freight logistics."
