Novuna Vehicle Solutions helps manage a fleet of over 140,000 vehicles and has now announced plans to open a cutting-edge electric vehicle (EV) charging forecourt at its premises in Trowbridge. The new forecourt, which will be the first of its kind in the UK's contract hire and leasing industry, will feature 12 AC charging bays capable of delivering up to 22 kW of power, fully charging an average EV with a 50 kWh battery equipped with an 11 kW onboard charger in under five hours. In addition, a separate car park on site will have four DC rapid charging bays that can deliver up to 100 kW of power, fully charging a vehicle in under one hour, subject to state of charge, temperature, onboard charger and power available.
Electricity at the forecourt will be generated from a solar canopy over the 12 AC bays combined with a grid connection, enabling an estimated 70% of the energy consumed for employee charging to be sourced from Novuna’s own renewable generation.
Furthermore, a 180 kWh battery storage facility on site, equipped with an energy management system, will enable the storage of unused solar-generated energy, allowing for the use of peak-saving trickle charging, which will deliver lower CO2 emissions.
The construction of the EV charging installation works, using lower CO2 concrete and equipment, will feature parking bays designed to accommodate cars and vans, as well as accessibility bays, and will showcase the full suite of end-to-end EV charging infrastructure capabilities provided by Novuna Vehicle Solutions.
The charging forecourt installation will act as a customer reference site, providing fleets with the opportunity to experience first-hand the variety of charging hardware Novuna Vehicle Solutions can implement for fleets at their own depot and workplace sites.
A key element of the installation will include the introduction of a charge point management system and associated driver app, My Novuna Charging, enabling Novuna Vehicle Solutions to manage both its own charging network and its customer’s charge points effectively. The system, which will also grant fleet drivers access to other corporate, private and public networks in the near future, provides a real-time view of charging events and energy consumption alongside remote hardware maintenance for fleets.
Jon Lawes, Managing Director of Novuna Vehicle Solutions, said, “We are very excited to unveil plans for our upcoming sustainable state of the art EV forecourt at one of our own sites, which will encompass the full spectrum of innovative charging solutions we can provide to fleets of all sizes and complexities. The combination of both AC and DC charging, paired with solar energy generation and battery storage, serves as both a marker to our commitment to carbon neutrality and demonstrates the comprehensive support we can offer fleet customers right across the EV charging ecosystem helping them to achieve their net zero ambitions.”
Novuna Vehicle Solutions, which manages over 140,000 vehicles across the UK and Europe ranging from cars and vans to HGVs and specialized assets, will soon come under pressure to electrify its entire car and small van fleet by 2030.
It's good to see Novuna working toward practical solutions like this – especially in the wake of last year's criticism of the way that Mayors across the UK were investing Government money.
“This charging forecourt in Trowbridge will, for the first time, truly showcase the breadth of our unique end-to-end modular charging capability and demonstrate first-hand the energy management solutions we can offer to fleet customers as a fully-fledged electrification partner in order to future proof their operations”, explained Lawes.
“As a large employer locally, our investment in this pioneering charging infrastructure will have a positive impact in the area, reducing our company carbon footprint and in turn helping to pave the way to a greener future for Wiltshire.“
The company's new charging forecourt, following planning approval received from Wiltshire Council, will formally commence construction this month with completion of the site expected later this year.
Novuna Vehicle Solutions is unique in the market in being able to offer an end-to-end decarbonization solution for businesses, from vehicle leasing and management to infrastructure, charge point management, and energy storage, and is leading the charge on electric vehicle adoption. The company has won several awards for it work in recent years and hopes that the opening of the Novuna EV charging forecourt will help it to position itself for the rapid expansion in EV ownership between now and 2030. This is something we welcome.
For WhichEV, this announcement brings up a key question: What does a charging destination have to provide, in order to qualify for the ‘electric forecourt' title that has been so well delivered by Gridserve? If Osprey or Connected Kerb open a facility with around 10 chargepoints, then we tend to call that a hub. Gridserve electric forecourts have large, dedicated buildings attached with refreshment/working facilities on site. This new proposal from Novuna has the chargers, but what other facilities does it plan to offer?
At what point does a hub qualify as a forecourt?