Heriot-watt gets into top gear

Edinburgh’s Heriot-watt University and energy systems specialist Flexible Power Systems have secured grants to help examine the future of carbon emission reductions in the commercial and freight sector.

Despite accounting for less than 13 per cent of the vehicles on the road, HGVS, light vans, buses and coaches contribute just over a third of the UK’S total transport-related CO2 emissions.

The first project – Integrated Energy Systems for Commercial Vehicles – will study the technical challenges and business models related to vehicleto-grid technology adoption among commercial vehicle operators.

As well as reducing greenhouse gas emissions while in transit, electric vehicles have the potential to return stored energy in their batteries back to the grid when parked.

The project is part of a £30 million Uk-wide package of competition funding to help develop the technology and business case for vehicle-togrid charging.

Funding is being provided by the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) and the department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), in partnership with Innovate UK.

A second project will assess future operator vehicle needs in the context of evolving town centre access and emissions constraints. The project will be delivered in partnership with UK trailer manufacturer Lawrence David.

Heriot-watt’s Professor Phil Greening, who is deputy director of the Centre for Sustainable Road Freight, a joint initiative with Cambridge University, which is involved in the research, said: “The future strategy for low-emission freight is still being developed.

“Commercial vehicles represent a unique challenge for options like electrification because of their need to carry payloads across demanding duty cycles for a very cost sensitive customer base.”