Dr Erica Ballantyne, Senior Lecturer in Operations and Supply Chain Management at Sheffield University Management School, led a workshop, which was supported by CILT UK, as part of the FEVER project.
The FEVER project is a 5 year EPSRC funded Programme grant held jointly with the Universities of Sheffield, Southampton, Surrey and Portsmouth. The project aims to investigate the design and implementation of non grid-connected (off-grid) Electric Vehicle charging stations for public and fleet vehicle use, utilising hybrid energy storage to cope with both short term, and interseasonal issues surrounding intermittent green generation.
The core research work being carried out at Sheffield concerns the simulation, design and implementation of the concept, together with the control of the overall system and facilitated use for fleet EV transport fleets. The work will culminate in 1-3 demonstrator sites, situated at supporting industrial partner’s locations. The workshop formed part of the project’s research activities on Smart Grids and Commercial Vehicle Fleet Applications. Dr Ballantyne’s presentation provided an overview of Electric Vehicle charging and considered the potential problems with the current charging infrastructure for commercial fleet transport operators.
During the workshop, industry participants involved in road freight transport and logistics, particularly those operating commercial vehicle fleets within the freight transport industry and wider business community, participated in discussions and shared valuable insights on commercial fleet operations and charging requirements relevant to the proposed FEVER charging stations.
Additionally, the FEVER project research team had the opportunity to open discussions regarding operational, technical and socio-economic challenges that the road freight transport sector might experience when electrifying their vehicle fleets. Maria Nunez Munoz, Research Associate at Sheffield University Management School, hosted one of the tables where discussions were centred around challenges associated with power availability at charging infrastructure locations, CAPEX costs, the trade-offs between range and capacity loss and the operational downtime for charging fleets.
The event had the privilege to include two industry professionals to deliver presentations on electric charging infrastructure and sustainable logistics; Dr Iain Mosely, Director of Power Electronics at Nyobolt, and Dr Nick Head, Head of Sustainability at XPO.
The event brought academic researchers from various disciplines, including logistics and engineering, within the FEVER team together with freight stakeholders, creating an environment conducive to constructive conversations and knowledge exchange. This interdisciplinary collaboration is crucial to the FEVER project, as it bridges the gap between research and practical application, fostering innovation and progress.