Pilot project is an electric winner

AN innovative pilot project
aimed at testing the viability of electric vans in a working fleet environment
has been rolled out over the summer.

A consortium comprising
Topaz, eircom and The Ecology Foundation launched the project in May.

The study gauges the
performance of the electric vans under a variety of criteria including
electricity usage, cost, mileage and emissions while it will also include
driver and forecourt surveys and the public’s response.

Minister for Transport,
Tourism and Sport, Leo Varadkar ,said the project would provide a wealth of
practical information that would be most useful for transport planning in the
years ahead.

“The findings will particularly assist fleet
managers who are considering the deployment of electric vehicles while it will
also demonstrate how forecourt operators like Topaz can engage with electric
vehicle drivers,

? he said.

“On a practical infrastructural level it will
provide extra charging points which will be used by the participating eircom
drivers, other fleet drivers and of course the general public.

?

The Minister said he hoped
the year long project, which is grant aided by his Department’s National
Sustainable Travel Office, would play its part in helping to achieve the
Government’s ambitious target of 10 per cent Electric Vehicle usage in the
Irish fleet by 2020.

Three eircom vans are
involved in the e800,000 project. eircom has procured the world’s first fast
chargeable (CHAdeMO protocol compliant) production vans. Each van is charged by
a combination of home charging and Topaz rapid charging facilities.

The CEO of Topaz Eddie
O’Brien said the company was delighted to be involved in the project, adding
that they were determined to play a leading
role in building up the country’s EV charging infrastructure.

“Right now a kilometer in an
EV costs 3 cent while a kilometer in a diesel van costs 9 cent,

? he pointed
out.

“That’s a compelling argument in its own right, especially given current
prices, but then you have the other benefits such as much reduced emissions and
lowering our dependence on imported fossil fuels. We are delighted to be
working with eircom, the Department of Transport and the Ecology Foundation on
this project and we believe the findings will be of interest not just to the
transport industry but to the average motorist as well.

Geoff Shakespeare, Chief
technology Officer, eircom said:

“eircom is delighted to participate in this
cutting edge project to promote sustainable energy technologies for our
vehicles. eircom has the largest transport fleet in Ireland and it is important
that large Irish companies such as eircom explore and promote sustainable
technologies that can reduce the financial impact of fuel costs and promote a cleaner
environment.

?

The idea for the project was
conceived by the Ecology Foundation, which has been working with both Topaz and
eircom on strategies to reduce their emissions. TEF will be responsible for
gathering and analysing the relevant data and writing the reports charting the
progress of the project.