GreenFleet

Scientific experts and government decision-makers agree that we need to reduce global carbon dioxide emissions by 80 per cent by 2050, and that transforming the nature of road transport will be critical to reaching this goal. With van and truck fleets accounting for approximately 25 per cent of any given organisation’s carbon emissions, greening the UK’s fleets is a key element of the government’s strategy to secure sustainable and economically viable carbon reductions.  
    
Greening the public sector van fleet is a major first step in introducing reliable low-carbon vans and trucks onto UK roads, and the Department for Transport acknowledged this by developing the Low Carbon Vehicle Procurement Programme (LCVPP) to fund the incremental costs of low carbon technology over conventional alternatives.  
    
Over a dozen public sector partners, including ten local authorities, are committed to the programme, which promises to put hundreds of hybrid and all-electric vehicles on UK roads over the next three years.

The key players
A Department for Transport programme, the LCVPP has support from the highest levels of government. Most recently Secretary of State for Transport Lord Adonis announced which vehicle manufacturers’ low carbon alternatives successfully passed the first round of the LCVPP procurement process.  
    
The DfT has named Cenex, the UK’s centre of excellence for low carbon and fuel cell technologies, as its LCVPP delivery partner. In this role, Cenex is responsible for inviting automotive manufacturers to join the programme and reviewing the suitability of their low carbon vehicles; managing vehicle demonstrations; approving grant support for public sector participants; and assessing the carbon savings of such vehicles.  
    
To strengthen public demand for these vehicles, and in turn help potential suppliers achieve economies of scale for their next generation low carbon propulsion technologies, the DfT and Cenex sought to identify a full range of representative public sector partners to trial the new low carbon vehicle technologies in their daily operating environments. Current partners include vehicle-reliant local councils, universities, and a range of central government organisations. (See text box for the full list).

How does it work?
Announced in 2007, the LCVPP will provide an initial £20m over three years to cover the cost difference public sector participants will incur when procuring low carbon vehicles over conventional vehicles. The programme offers a potential for further funding if early trials yield successful results.
    
The first step in getting the programme off the ground was an initial procurement exercise, which closed earlier this year and sought to identify a handful of new lower carbon panel vans to trial in limited numbers. Last year manufacturers were invited to submit their all-electric and hybrid panel van models for consideration, and in June 2008 a full range of 25 models from four manufacturers were approved for three-year public sector trials. By closely monitoring the vehicles’ performance over time, the trials will test the low carbon vans’ long term reliability and fuel efficiency. At the time this article went to print, the LCVPP’s public sector partners indicated a desire to order at least 180 of these low carbon vehicles for the initial three-year trial demonstrations.
    
If the initial phases of these trials are successful, the DfT will release additional funding next year for participating public bodies to add even more low carbon vehicles to their fleets, with the aim of introducing small fleet scale demonstration of new low carbon technologies. By creating a demand for proven low carbon vehicles, the hope is that the LCVPP will encourage innovation in the supply of low carbon technologies, and make car makers’ more confident to invest now in the new, low-carbon products that will drive the future green economy.

Types of vehicles
Given the vehicle needs of participating public sector fleets, panel vans were the focus of the initial round of LCVPP procurement, and as mentioned above, just over 180 lower carbon vans and all-electric panel vans are anticipated to hit the streets later this year.
    
As the large scale field trial for these vans gets underway, Cenex and the DfT are considering widening the type of low carbon vehicle being trialled under the LCVPP. Further procurement activities, which could focus on introducing all-electric and plug-in hybrid passenger cars or minibuses, will be considered for the programme next year. Car-derived vans are also a potential focus of future LCVPP procurement exercises.
    
As is the case for the 25 low-carbon panel vans currently being offered, public sector partners purchase approved vehicles directly from the manufacturer, and begin trialling them with support from Cenex.  
    
The trials are centrally coordinated to ensure consistency and to provide complete demonstrations of each new technology. Each type of vehicle will be trialled by at least two different public sector fleets, to guarantee a robust preview of each new technology or innovation. During the three year trials, sample vehicles will undergo formal testing after six months, and then again after each year on the road.

What next?
By the time this article goes to print, the LCVPP’s public sector partners will have placed their final orders for all-electric and electric hybrid panel vans. The vehicles will then be ready to hit UK streets for a three year, real-world trial by January 2010. During the extensive trials, DfT and Cenex hope to gain vital information about electric vehicles’ usability, in order to improve upon current designs and inform future innovation. Specifically, the trials will provide: fleet operator and drivers’ perceptions of real world use; quantitative measures of CO2 savings over time (as compared to standard fleets); and, finally, sophisticated vehicle monitoring to identify the potential, in certain vehicles, for even further CO2 savings.
    
By gradually building momentum and increasing the number of public sector purchasers invited to buy these cutting-edge new vehicles, the DfT hopes to underscore to industry that there are material prospects for further vehicle orders, subject to the success of initial trials.
    
LCVPP’s public sector partners have already expressed their commitment to considering additional orders for lower-carbon vehicles after the initial demonstration period. Despite their dedication, the final decisions will be based on whether or not the vehicles met their promised performance requirements and proved to be cost-effective investments that benefited not only carbon reduction targets, but also the organisation’s bottom line.
    
An innovative approach to driving advancements in the UK’s low carbon vehicle sector, the Low Carbon Vehicle Procurement Programme does not only benefit its public sector partners. By lowering the technology and cost barriers that currently prevent UK manufacturers from making their low carbon and electric vehicle offerings more widely available, the LCVPP is ultimately supporting the future of the UK car manufacturing industry as the world moves to a low carbon business model.

LCVPP Stakeholders
City of London
Coventry City Council
Coventry University
Environment Agency
Gateshead City Council
Glasgow City Council
HM Revenue & Customs
Leeds City Council
Liverpool City Council
London Boroughs of Camden, Hackney, and Islington
Newcastle City Council
Royal Mail
Transport for London
University of Warwick