A UK city has taken a progressive approach to facilitating its movement towards electric vehicle adoption by appointing an energy firm to erect electric charging infrastructure.
The Scottish city of Dundee has confirmed that Evolt, which is the e-mobility brand of Swarco Group has appointed Connected Energy to supply one if its E-Storage systems to complement its electric vehicle charging hub in the heart of the city.
The hub represents a dedicated area for the charging of EVs, which will be the flagship site of Dundee City Council's Go Ultra Low Cities project that it has embarked upon in an effort to reinforce its commitment to the environment.
Dundee City Council has disclosed that it expects construction on the hub to commence in the spring of the year, and added that the facility will incorporate six rapid chargers and solar canopies alongside the 60kW, 90kWh E-Stor system.
One of the primary objectives of The E-Stor system is to improve the business case and indicate the environmental credibility of the initiative by managing the peak load, maximizing the use of solar energy to charge electric vehicles, whilst also taking advantage of differences in electricity cost throughout the day.
In addition this, it has been further disclosed that the energy storage systems will utilize second life electric vehicle batteries to provide cost effective stationary energy storage in an effort to make a significant contribution to the sustainability of both electric vehicles and charging infrastructure.
Evolt has confirmed that it has secured the overall contract for the ambitious project and will be tasked with the responsibility of managing installation.
Lynne Short, a representative of Dundee City Council's city development expressed her belief that the project can take the city to the next level.
She said, "This is an important project for the city and it will take us to the next level when it comes to our charging infrastructure. Within the 26 square miles of perfection that is Dundee we will have a charging network second to none and working with skilled and efficient suppliers is a key part of that."
CEO of Connected Energy, Matthew Lumsden, described the initiative as an example of digital transformation. He said, "This is a landmark project in terms of the development of EV charging hubs in the UK so we are very pleased to be contributing to the development of the system and the supporting operational and business case."