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Hitachi

Optimise Prime

ZeroCarbon Charge | ZeroCarbon Strategy

What is Optimise Prime?

The partnership

Funded by Ofgem’s Network Innovation Competition, we partnered with UK Power Networks, Royal Mail, Uber and British Gas (Centrica) to lead the world’s largest trial of over 8000 EVs, called Optimise Prime.

EVs are a central solution to decarbonize the world’s transportation sector and to meet Net Zero targets. Optimise Prime aimed to accelerate the transition of fleets to zero emission EVs by identifying and reducing the barriers to electrification, including those resulting from the current design and operation of the electricity distribution network.

Understanding how electrification impacts the eco-system

We led a group of partners to gather data on the usage of commercial EVs and trial new methods that reduce the impact and pressure on the grid. By working collaboratively with major UK fleets and technology providers, as well as the local distribution network operator, the project was able to understand the impact of electrification on businesses, the network, and stakeholders in order to develop and test the right solutions.

Our team analyzed data from over 8000 EVs, across three different fleets, to identify charging demand, infrastructure requirements, and the associated impact on the grid until 2030. On top of this, our team developed a technology solution which provided smart charging for electric fleets and enabled the provision of flexibility services for the grid.

How Optimise Prime changed the trajectory of commercial EV fleets

In working together, the trial enabled us to:

  • Develop the technology to provide smart charging services and enable Royal Mail to provide flexibility services (demand side response) to the network operator – this formed the basis for our ZeroCarbon Charge solution.
  • Forecast impact of electrification on the grid, enabling the network to plan ahead in order to adapt and support the expected increase in demand from EVs.
  • Successfully demonstrate the use of flexibility services to minimize the impact of electrification on the grid.
  • Develop and trial a new type of grid connection, called a profiled connection, which reduces cost barriers to electrification by mitigating the need for grid connection upgrades.
  • Forecast future demand for EV charging from fleets and identified areas with highest demand to inform infrastructure policy and planning.
  • Develop a fleet electrification guide for commercial fleets, outlining the key steps and technical requirements to successfully transition to an electric fleet – enabling fleets to accelerate their electrification plans.

Optimise Prime developed and trialled key solutions which lowered the cost and technical barriers to electrification for fleets, and minimized the network impact of EVs on the grid.

The project was instrumental in bringing together cross-sector partners in order to accelerate the transition to electric for commercial fleets. Outcomes from Optimise Prime, including a substantial dataset, are publicly available here so that other organisations can benefit from project findings and solutions.

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