Case Studies

Optimisation of Fleet Transition: Municipality of Amsterdam The City of Amsterdam has made it a priority to make its fleet emission-free by 2030, as part of its sustainability ambitions. A transition plan was drawn up in 2019 to achieve this objective. However, in order to meet changing sustainability objectives, market trends and operational requirements, it was decided to recalibrate this plan. Project Details Project Partners 2 Location(s) Amsterdam Starting Year 2024 Download Report The municipality of Amsterdam has jointly asked FIER Automotive and Cenex Nederland to carry out the recalibration and to formulate advice for the continuation of the transition. The aim was to make an integrated assessment of the municipal sustainability goals, market developments and the operational needs of the various organisational units. This required an in-depth analysis of the existing fleet, identifying bottlenecks and opportunities, and formulating recommendations for an optimized transition plan. Goals – Recalibration of the fleet transition plan to meet the sustainability goals of the municipality of Amsterdam. – Identify opportunities for improved operational efficiency and cost control. – Formulating recommendations for an integrated transition plan that takes into account the possibilities regarding charging infrastructure, (future) market developments and technological trends. Results – An updated transition plan that provides integral insight into the opportunities and challenges of making the Municipality of Amsterdam’s fleet more sustainable.  -A final report with detailed insights and advice, including official coordination with the stakeholders involved. – Recommendations for an optimized transition plan, with a focus on sustainability, operational efficiency and cost control. Preview Only

Essex Police and Fire & Rescue Fleet and Infrastructure Strategy In preparation for the UK Government’s plan for all new cars, vans, and heavy goods vehicles up to 26 tonnes to be zero emission vehicles by 2035, Essex Police and Essex County Fire & Rescue Service commissioned Cenex to develop a detailed Zero Emission Vehicle Fleet and Infrastructure Strategy. Police, Fire & Rescue, and other emergency service fleets are particularly challenging to transition to zero emission vehicles for a variety of operational reasons. – Emergency response vehicles are in use 24 hours a day, need to be available at short notice, and can be driven at sustained high speeds. – Fire appliances use a power take-off from the diesel engine to pump water and undertake other firefighting activities. – Regional coverage is provided by many sites with relatively few vehicles at each. Project Details Location(s) United Kingdom Starting Year 2023 At Cenex NL we supported our colleagues at Cenex, working with Essex Police and Fire & Rescue to develop a Zero Emission Vehicle and Infrastructure Strategy for each fleet with clear recommendations and an implementable fleet transition plan. This was achieved through the following activities: – Baselining the current fleet composition and emissions. – Reviewing the availability and maturity of zero emission vehicle technologies. – Assessing the real-world operating range suitability of battery electric and fuel cell electric vehicles. – Determining the number and type of electric vehicle charging infrastructure required and the potential demand for renewable hydrogen by location. – Summarising the capital costs, running costs, and emissions impacts of different fleet replacement scenarios. – Undertaking a high level review of ultra-low emission vehicle technologies and renewable fuels as options to reduce greenhouse gas emissions during the transition to zero emission vehicle technologies. – Developing a fleet transition roadmap and action plan. The Result The Zero Emission Vehicle and Infrastructure Strategy provides Essex Police and Fire & Rescue with a clear set of recommendations for achieving their ambition of transitioning to a zero emission vehicle fleet in realistic timescales. Key Findings: Police – 81% of the police fleet could be replaced by battery electric vehicles that have sufficient range to complete their average daily mileages and already provide total cost of ownership savings, this would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 53% based on the current UK electricity grid. – Response vehicles account for 76% of the police fleet greenhouse gas emissions, so whilst battery electric vehicles can already be introduced in non-response roles it is important that Essex Police trial and demonstrate zero emission response vehicles to see what role they can fulfil on the fleet and what operational changes may be required to accommodate them. Fire & Rescue – 55% of the fire & rescue fleet could be replaced by battery electric vehicles that have sufficient range to complete their average daily mileages and already provide total cost of ownership savings, this would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 16% based on the current UK electricity grid. – Type B Fire Appliances, and other 18t rigid trucks, account for 64% of the fire & rescue fleet greenhouse gas emissions. Essex Fire & Rescue should develop a detailed understanding of their duty cycles and undertake market engagement with zero emission vehicle and infrastructure suppliers to develop options for trialling battery electric and fuel cell electric vehicles to see what role they can fulfil on the fleet and what operational changes may be required to accommodate them. Infrastructure – To minimise infrastructure costs, Essex Police and Fire & Rescue should work together to plan long term electric vehicle charging infrastructure on a site-by-site basis. An optimised solution can be developed by considering chargepoint sharing, load management, and by developing a better understanding of daily energy requirements and vehicle dwell times. Chief Officers have adopted the comprehensive analysis and project report as the roadmap to meeting their zero emission aspirations. A Chief Officer Project Board incorporating the many provisioning departments will deliver the strategy for change, which potentially reflects changes to the operational delivery model. Preview Only

Environmental Justice Impacts of Zero Emission Vehicles Despite significant improvement in air quality and public health over the past decades, many regions, especially low-income and disadvantaged communities, still suffer from high levels of air pollution. Emissions from the transportation sector are a leading contributor to ambient air pollution and adverse public health. Tailpipe emissions from cars and trucks contribute to nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions, a precursor to ozone, as well as fine particulate matters (e.g., PM2.5). The issue is much more aggravated in low-income and disadvantaged communities; many studies worldwide have shown that these regions often bear the greatest burdens of air pollution from the transportation sector. Part of this is because of their close proximity to major roadways and freight facilities.   Project Details Project Partners 4 Location(s) California, Michigan, and England Starting Year 2022 Download Report Partnering with the consultants from ICF and our GSMP partners Cenex and Forth Mobility, Cenex NL explored the barriers for an equitable transition to zero emission vehicles and provides recommendations for government agencies. The research was conducted for the International Zero-Emission Vehicle Alliance (ZEV Alliance), a collaboration of national and subnational governments working together to accelerate adoption of ZEVs. Project brief Three ZEV markets – California, Michigan, and England – were selected to conduct quantitative analyses. Certain observations for the European and American markets were qualitatively explained. The quantitative research consisted of an analysis of ZEV ownership and its relationship with various socio-demographic and EJ indicators. Looking for disparities in ZEV adoption, and of the major factors driving them in each market. For the qualitative analysis, a comprehensive EJ stakeholder engagement was conducted in the US and Europe to identify major barriers to adoption of ZEVs within lower-income regions and disadvantaged communities. The engagement consisted of semi-structured interviews and online workshops with in total 15 EJ experts and 24 organizations dedicated to EJ The goals of this research were to highlight the existing disparity in ZEV ownership, quantify the EJ benefits of ZEVs, and provide policy and program recommendations that various government agencies can implement to enhance the EJ outcomes of their ZEV policies. Results The stakeholder engagement resulted in the identification of three major barriers of ZEV adaptation. Affordability: ZEVs continue to remain unaffordable for lower income households, existing incentive portfolio has not made ZEVs sufficiently affordable. Access to charging infrastructure: Lower income regions, especially those who rent or live in multi-family housing, often do not have access to home charging. Availability of mobility options: EJ stakeholders from North America and Europe shared that not every community member is interested in owning a car if there are alternative mobility options that are preferable. To solve these barriers we developed a list of policy recommendations that various government agencies and policymakers can consider. The main recommendations are: Leverage the Expanding Pre-Owned ZEV Market: The pre-owned vehicle market can provide great opportunities for access to more affordable ZEVs. Public Charging and Fuelling Infrastructure: Access to ZEV charging stations is a key barrier to ZEV adoption in lower income regions, especially for households without home chargers. Targeted Incentives toward Lower Income Regions: The high upfront cost of ZEVs is one of the major barriers to adoption. Support Regions’ Mobility Alternatives: We believe there is great opportunity for governments to invest in clean alternative modes of transportation. It will not only enhance mobility, but lead to reduced traffic congestion and air quality improvements. The Role of Electrifying Medium- and Heavy-Duty Trucks: These are one of the major emissions sources contributing to public health issues in lower income regions and disadvantaged communities. While the focus of the report is on the California, Michigan, and England markets, the outcomes of this research could be useful to all who seek to increase accessibility and equity of ZEVs. Cenex NL key contributions The team captured the views of EU-based EJ experts, from academia and NGOs, in a series of interviews and workshops. Furthermore, Cenex NL performed a  quantitative analysis on the relation of EV roll-out and socioeconomic metrics to better understand the EJ of relevant policies in different EU countries. Preview Only

Bpost Fleet Decarbonisation Strategy As part of their response to the Climate Emergency, the Belgian postal service (bpost) declared an ambition to reduce their environmental impact by at least 20% by 2030. In addition, bpost is setting up emission free city delivery network in Belgium, city by city.  These ambitions entail a target for the transition of their last mile van fleet to a minimum of 50% electric by 2030 at the latest. Project Details Project Partners 3 Location(s) Belgium bpost has one of Belgium’s largest mail and package delivery fleets comprising small, medium and large vans, trucks, and mopeds, bicycles, and three-wheelers. The fleet operates from distribution centres across Belgium, including urban to rural depots. With such a wide variety of vehicles in use across a host of different usage condition the electrification of their van fleet could prove challenging. To achieve their ambition, bpost gained the independent consultancy services of PwC and Cenex to develop a comprehensive electric vehicle and infrastructure strategy and deployment plan to identify: The ideal fleet mix for the future; by reviewing bpost’s goal to achieve a 50% electric last mile fleet by 2030 and creating a flexible, cost-effective deployment strategy that accounted for all low-emission technologies, and the impact of the introduction of low-emission zones within Belgian cities. The infrastructural solutions required to service the identified fleet mix by generating a long-term energy electrification strategy and energy supply vision. Along with the above strategic advice, a decision-making model was to be created to allow bpost to further assess the wider business impacts of deploying low and zero emission vehicles, including the types and numbers of associated infrastructure, across all bpost sites for a range of different deployment scenarios. The Development Working in collaboration with PwC, Cenex (UK & NL) undertook a range of Belgium focused electric van and infrastructure market and technology research activities, including a review of the impacts associated with the growth of localised policies such as low emission zones and car-free zones. In addition, leveraging PwC’s previous analysis of the bpost fleet, a complete overview of their current fleet make up and related total cost of ownership (TCO) was created, enabling a cost comparison between diesel and electric vehicles to be undertaken. The Cenex in-house Fleet Advice Tool was then used to calculate the potential energy consumption of equivalent electric vans to assess the daily energy needs of the future bpost fleet mix. The calculated energy consumption information was used to undertake an in-depth electric vehicle infrastructure analysis to assess the power and charging strategies required to optimise the number of chargepoints across the bpost depots. A future energy strategy was also developed to allow bpost to understand how to adapt the identified electric vehicle and building infrastructure to enable charging of vehicles on a large scale. The Result The research and analysis undertaken by Cenex was used by PwC to develop a simulation model, powered by Microsoft PowerBI, to enable bpost to continually review and assess the impacts of their decarbonisation plans through dynamic and flexible scenario modelling, with interactive dashboards showing the impact of different scenarios on both vehicle total cost of ownership and carbon emissions. The analysis and resulting solution provided bpost with a simulation tool to calculate the cost and operational impact of an electrification of 0 – 100% of their last mile delivery fleet by 2030 and provided a path to a solution within the client budget and ambition level. Preview Only

DynaCov: Dynamic Charging of Vehicles In January 2021, the research and development project Dynacov, wireless dynamic charging started, the first of its kind in the UK. Coventry City Council leads the DynaCov project, alongside key delivery partners Cenex and Coventry University. Funded by Ofgem and WPD (Western Power Distribution), the total budget amounts £475.000 (approx. €546.500) for the study. Wireless Power Transfer (WPT) exists in three forms: 1) static wireless charging, 2) stationary wireless charging, and 3) dynamic wireless charging. Static wireless charging is performed while a car is parked using a pod on the ground. If a vehicle is charged briefly during its trip, for example at traffic lights, it is called stationary charging and if it is charging whilst driving it is called dynamic wireless charging. Project Details Project Partners 8 Location Coventry Starting Year 2021 Duration 1 Year Funder Western Distribution Context The DynaCov study revolves around dynamic wireless charging. The technology could be used in various applications, which could benefit the transition to zero-emission mobility. For example, Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) or city busses can top up their battery during their work cycles instead of having to drive to a specific charge station site. But it could also help the power network by charging vehicles at moments during their journeys, instead of plugging in at peak power demand moments such as in the early evening when people come home from work. The technology works through magnetic inductive power transfer. Energy flows from one coil to another through electromagnetic induction, a technology you might already be using every day by charging your electric toothbrush. A strip of coils would need to be installed beneath or on the tarmac, and a receiver pad would need to be retrofitted under the vehicle. Deliverables Together with our strategic partner in the UK, Cenex Nederland is undertaking a literature review and a feasibility assessment of dynamic wireless charging, focussing on the present and future developments of this innovative technology. Cenex will also assess the impact of this technology on the UK’s electricity networks and assist Coventry University in modelling the grid impacts of dynamic wireless charging on Coventry’s main road. Partners: Coventry City Council, Coventry University, National Express, Transport for West Midlands, Hubject and Midlands Connect Preview Only