Oxford City Council has installed a 50kW rapid charger at the Oxford Direct Services (ODS) hub, to enable the use of an electric refuse collection vehicle.

The installation is part of a £41m Energy Superhub Oxford (ESO) project, led by Oxford City Council and Pivot Power, which aims to trial a variety of zero-emission transport solutions.

The innogy eMobility rapid charger is capable of replenishing a fleet vehicle battery up to 80% charge in as little as 40 minutes.

A further 32 fast 22kW chargers have been installed at ODS, as part of the ESO project.

Find out more about implementing workplace charging schemes in the latest digital edtion of Fleet News.

Simon Howick managing director of ODS said: “I’m delighted that ODS is able to play its part in reaching this milestone for Oxford through the installation of these charging points.”

ODS has 330 vehicles in its fleet, and is aiming to make a quarter of them electric by 2023.  In total, 34 new electric vehicles will arrive this year including cars, a street sweeper, an excavator and mix of different sized vans, with most interest focussed on the new refuse collection vehicle, a vast electric vehicle due in Oxford for a trial period later this month. 

Data gained from the use of the charging points will be used to identify further efficiency improvements

As ODS delivers so many different frontline services for the community on behalf of the council including waste collection, street cleansing, property, highways and parks management, it is well placed to trial the new electric charging points and vehicles. They can be put to work in a wide variety of situations to prove their efficiency and measure the impact of driving styles, working demands and charging patterns on the battery and vehicle performance.

Read the full story about ESO project and how Oxford plans to be the UK's first zero emission city in the July issue of Fleet News, out on July 23