The largest programme of real-world trials ever seen of electric and low-carbon cars will begin within weeks after the Government put £25 million to fund the new project.

Hundreds of low-emission and zero-emission cars will be used by fleets and private motorists over the next six to 18 months to provide real-world data needed to fine tune the cars prior to mass market launch.

Iain Gray, chief executive of the Technology Strategy Board, which is overseeing the trials said: “The journey towards low-carbon transport will not be easy, but this Ultra Low Carbon Vehicle Demonstrator programme is a major step in the right direction.”

Car manufacturers, local authorities and infrastructure companies are all involved in the eight new projects.

Science minister Lord Drayson said the programme signals the Government’s “intent to reduce our dependence on petrol- and diesel-based engines”.

Transport secretary Andrew Adonis added: "Our aim is for ultra-low carbon vehicles to be an everyday feature of life on Britain’s roads in less than five years.”

This challenging target, he says, will be met through these trials which will see 340 electric, hydrogen fuel cell and plug-in petrol/electric hybrid cars tested.

The information gained will be used by manufacturers to develop low-carbon vehicles for the mass market.

Director at the Environmental Transport Association, Andrew Davis, said: “This scheme paves the way for an electric equivalent to the Ford Model T; a green and affordable car that will revolutionise the way we travel.”

Many car manufacturers are involved in the programme, including, Ford, BMW, Jaguar Land Rover, Allied Vehicles, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota, Mitsubishi and Nissan, alongside the wider car industry supply base, four energy suppliers, five universities, and three regional development agencies.

The trails will take place in

  • Glasgow
  • the North East
  • the West Midlands
  • Oxford
  • three projects in London (central London, West London, Westminster)
  • and countrywide.

The West Midlands consortium, called CABLED - short for Coventry and Birmingham Low Emission Demonstrators – is made up of 13 organisations, led by Arup.

The consortium will develop and demonstrate 110 cars to be trialled in the two cities over 12 months, 40 of which will be Smart electric cars, although each of the six vehicle manufacturers – Jaguar/Land Rover, Mitsubishi/Colt, Mercedes Benz/Smart, Tata Motors, LTI and Microcab Industries – are contributing vehicles.

Electricity provider E.ON is delivering charging points for the trial with assistance from the city councils of Birmingham and Coventry.

Three Midland’s universities play a major role in the scheme: Coventry University on the selection of drivers, Aston University in the analysis of vehicle usage, and the University of Birmingham in the use of hydrogen fuelling station – theirs is currently one of the very few of its kind in UK.

A new hydrogen station is planned for Coventry University.
In the North East, 35 cars developed in the region will be trialled. Nissan, Smith Electric Vehicles in partnership with LTI, AVID Vehicles, Liberty Electric Cars, Newcastle University and One North East are all involved.

The project will include 15 Nissan cars, 10 Smith electric taxis, five Smith people carriers, a Smith executive minibus, two AVID saloon cars and two Liberty urban Range Rovers, alongside a network of charging points.

Newcastle University’s Transport Operations Research Group will monitor and model the performance and use of the vehicles.

In Middlesex, a fleet of zero-emission prototype Ford Focus BEVs will be used by Southern Energy.

A consortium of Ford, Scottish and Southern Energy and Strathclyde University will provide the prototype vehicles and a charging infrastructure in and around Hillingdon during 2010.

Smart has been trialling 100 electric cars with fleets and has already put the car into small series production (Fleet News June 25).

The trials started in December 2007 with fleet customers and will last for four years with fleets leasing the vehicles for £375 a month.

Now Smart is now inviting applicants to take part in two electric drive research trials: one project in London and the South East and one in the West Midlands.

The research is a unique opportunity for users to influence the product development and design process, and will include a focus on domestic recharging behaviours over a 12 month period.

Dermot Kelly, managing director Mercedes-Benz, said: “smart has been conducting real-life trials of 100 electric cars with partner companies across the country since 2007.

"We’re delighted that smart has been awarded this funding. It means we can offer electric smarts with state of the art lithium-ion battery technology at affordable monthly lease rates.”

EDF Energy is already trialling three electric Smarts in its fleet.

Forty electric Mini cars will also be trialled in Oxford and the South-East.

Oxford Brookes University’s Sustainable Vehicle Engineering Centre will be responsible for undertaking scientific data analysis, as well as conducting customer surveys to capture the subjective feedback from the Mini E test vehicles.

The Mini E will be tested by a mixture of private, corporate and public sector drivers before the end of 2009.

They will be trialled for 12 months to allow Mini to evaluate the technical and social aspects of living with an all-electric vehicle in a real world environment.

Andy Hearn, general manager at Mini UK, said: “The research results we obtain will help inform those bodies seeking to create the political, technical and commercial framework necessary to enable sustainable mobility in a low carbon future to become reality.

"They will also give our own engineers a clearer picture of customers’ requirements and aspirations as they develop an electric vehicle for series production.”

By October this year, the Allied Vehicles Project will put 40 electric cars converted from Peugeot vehicles onto Glasgow’s road.

The cars will have a range of 80 to 100 miles and will be capable of recharging from domestic or commercial power supply and will be trialled by a variety of users nominated by Glasgow City Council.

Forty charging points will be located around Glasgow.

During this one-year test period the vehicles will be monitored using an innovative GPS system to record the number and length of individual journeys, the date and time and the energy usage of each journey, the time and length of charging and the ambient temperature.

This data will be gathered via the internet for analysis by experts at Strathclyde University.

Completed analyses will then be made available to ScottishPower, for whom it will provide empirical evidence of the charging infrastructure required to support much greater uptake of electric vehicles.

Toyota and EDF Energy have teamed up to trial 20 Toyota plug-in hybrid cars.

Toyota will lease the cars to existing Toyota Prius fleet customers including a mix of public bodies and private companies.

The trials will start in mid-2010, predominately within London for three years.

The cars will be leased to a mix of public bodies and private companies including the Greater London Authority and the Government Car and Despatch Agency.

“Now we have the opportunity to demonstrate a fleet under demanding real-life conditions,” said Miguel Fonseca, managing director of Toyota (GB) PLC.

“Our new PHV complements the newly-launched third generation Prius as plug-in technology extends electric driving mode almost tenfold, offering an even lower carbon transport solution for those customers with that specific need,” he added.

Meanwhile, the ‘EEMS Accelerate’ project will put 21 electric sports cars on the road for 12 months.

The cars will be produced by four UK companies: Delta Motorsport; the Lightning Car company; Westfield Sports cars and Ecotricity cars.

Green-Motion will provide fleet management and support services to the project.

The electric sports cars will be placed with driving enthusiasts where they will be used for commuting and leisure purposes, including closed-circuit driving.

 

 

 

 

 

  • Coventry and Birmingham Low Emission Demonstrators (CABLED) – The consortium is made up of 13 organisations led by Arup and includes Advantage West Midlands, Jaguar Land Rover, Mitsubishi/Colt, Mercedes-Benz/smart, Tata Motors, LTI and Microcab industries, E.ON and three Midland’s universities
  • Electric Vehicle Accelerated Development in the North East (EVADINE) – The consortium consists of Nissan, Smith Electric Vehicles in partnership with LTI, AVID Vehicles, Liberty Electric Cars, Newcastle University and One North East. Newcastle University’s Transport Operations Research Group will monitor and model the performance and use of the vehicles.
  • Ford Focus Battery Electric Vehicle – The consortium of Ford, Scottish and Southern Energy and Strathclyde University will provide prototype vehicles and a charging infrastructure in and around Hillingdon, Middlesex during 2010.
  • London South East Bid - Since 2007 smart has been trialling 100 smart electric cars with partner companies across the country. Additional cars will be brought to the UK in early 2010 when smart will be carrying out an important trial with the support of the Technology Strategy Board. Individuals can apply to participate in these „smart electric drive“ research trials across the London South East and West Midlands regions. smart will work with a number of partner organisations including, EDF Energy, Elektromomitve, Greater London Authority, and Westminster City Council.
  • Mini E Research Project - In addition to BMW Group, the consortium is includes Scottish and Southern Energy, responsible for providing the infrastructure in and around Oxford and the South-East of England by installing the private and public charging points; and Oxford Brookes University’s Sustainable Vehicle Engineering Centre will be responsible for undertaking scientific data analysis, as well as conducting customer surveys to capture the subjective feedback from users of the MINI E test vehicles.
  • The Allied Vehicles Project - The Allied Vehicles Projectaims to design, test and bring to production 40 battery electric cars by October 2009, via partners Allied Vehicles, Glasgow City Council, ScottishPower, Axeon and Strathclyde University.
  • PHV – Paving the way to full commercialisation of plug-in hybrid vehicles – Toyota, with partner EDF Energy, intends to lease up to 20 plug-in hybrid vehicles to existing Toyota Prius fleet customers including a mix of public bodies and private companies. The trials will start in mid 2010, predominately within London for a period of three years.
  • EEMS Accelerate - The ‘EEMS Accelerate’ project will put 21 cutting edge high specification electric sports cars on the road for 12 months. AEA, an energy, climate change and data management consultancy, will lead the consortium. The electric vehicles will be produced by four UK automotive partners, Delta Motorsport, Ecotricity cars, Westfield Sports cars and Lightning Car Company.