SSE Energy Solutions plans new EV hub in Birmingham
An energy firm has announced plans to build its first fully electric charging hub for heavy goods vehicles in Birmingham.
Scottish outfit SSE Energy Solutions has chosen Tyseley Energy Park for the facility which will be capable of accommodating up to four electric HGVs at a time.
It will house powerful 360 kW chargers that could get lorries and trucks back on the road in under two hours.
Established in 2010, Tyseley Energy Park is owned by the Webster and Horsfall Group and is home to a hydrogen refuelling station and a 10 MW waste-wood biomass power plant which generates enough electricity to power 17,000 homes.
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SSE's charging hub will include a canopy which is to be formed from a combination of galvanised steel and sustainable timber and will incorporate a rainwater harvesting system to capture surface rainwater and irrigate a living green wall within the site.
EV project development manager Ben Brickwood said: "The development of our first all-electric HGV charging hub at Tyseley Energy Park is a crucial step as we continue to enable the decarbonisation of Britain's transport infrastructure and industries.
"Drawing on our expertise and experience with bus depot electrification and the roll out of EV passenger car hubs, this project demonstrates our commitment to accelerating the transition to electric for all vehicles and building the framework needed to support their rollout.
"We believe that, through investments like this and by working closely with partners like Webster and Horsfall, we can play a leading role in driving down transport emissions and building a net zero future in Birmingham, the West Midlands and beyond."
Perth-based SSE Energy Solutions said only 0.3 per cent of HGVs on Britain's roads were currently electric so the project represented a key milestone in its strategy to help decarbonise the road freight sector.
It added that diesel HGVs accounted for 17 per cent of all road transport emissions in the UK despite making up just five per cent of vehicles on the roads.
Longer term, the company plans to build 500 ultra-rapid charging hubs for electric cars and commercial fleets powered by renewable energy in the UK and Ireland by 2030, with a number of sites already operational.
David Horsfall, director of property at Tyseley Energy Park, added "We are delighted to welcome SSE and see the launch of their ambitious new HGV charging hub.
"This will be an enormous boost for the area which was recently re-branded as the Green Energy Innovation Quarter for Birmingham.
"This first-of-a-kind HGV charging station will complement the clean fuels already on offer at the park's low and zero carbon refuelling station and is a major step forward in the region's efforts to improve air quality and decarbonise."
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