Nissan opens 360kW eHGV charging site at Sunderland plant worth £1.4m
Nissan has opened a £1.4m charging station for electric heavy goods vehicles (eHGVs) capable of supporting a fleet of 25 trucks with charging speeds of up to 360kW.
The Sunderland eHGV project was led by charge point operator, Gridserve, and brings together Nissan, haulage partners Fergusons, Yusen logistics, and used vehicle specialists, ECA. Funded as part of the UK Government’s £200m Innovate UK scheme, the site has seven charging stations capable of powering up to 10 eHGVs simultaneously.
The site is the first of its kind in the UK to support an end-to-end electric supply chain. The all-electric trucks will collecks parts from Nissan’s UK supply base stretching as far as Derby in the Midlands and deliver them to the Sunderland factory where they will be used to built the upcoming Nissan Leaf, plus all-electric versions of the Qashqai and the Juke.
According to Nissan, the distance between Sunderland and Derby equates to around 1.5 million miles (2.4m kilometres) travelled annually. Using eHGVs will lead to a reduction of 1,500 tonnes of CO2 per-year.
The newly-built hub also supports the Nissan EV36Zero vision for sustainable manufacturing, which aims to produce the Japanese carmaker’s electric vehicles and batteries in one single renewable energy-powered factory.
Regarding this eHGV milestone, Michael Simpson, Nissan’s supply chain management vice president, said: “It is fantastic for our plant to be leading the charge to an electrified supply chain with this project.
“We welcome the support we’ve received from our partners to bring the charging station to life and we’re proud of what we have achieved. The charging station looks brilliant and is a big step forward in Nissan’s EV360 vision, which brings together electric vehicles, zero carbon energy, and battery manufacturing.
“We’re exploring further opportunities to allow other hauliers to use the charging station as well as looking at other areas to maximise its full potential.”
Daniel Kunkel, Gridserve CEO added: “”The decarbonisation of transport logistics is much stronger and reaches far wider when done in partnership. This is why, as leaders of the Electric Freightway consortium, we are so pleased to support this UK first with Nissan and their haulage partners.
“Depot charging is critical for the electrification of HGVs, going hand in hand with future public infrastructure developments. As a first shared usage site, this location is leading the way in sustainable freight logistics.”
eHGVs are gradually becoming a part of the UK’s EV ecosystem. Delivery company Hived has added 11 Mercedes eHGVs to its fleet of trucks, while motorway service station operator, Moto, announced it has plans to have 300 eHGV chargers nationwide by 2030.
