Gridserve opens electric HGV charging lab as new BSI standard launched

Gridserve has opened an electric vehicle (EV) charging laboratory to improve charger performance and to test technology for powering electric heavy goods vehicles (eHGVs).

The new facility is based at the Gridserve’s innovation and operations centre in Swindon and features a mix of high power and medium power chargers, with future capacity to test megawatt-capable (MW) charging.

The lab has also been designed to securely test the so-called charging handshake with pre-production vehicle prototypes, assess battery energy storage systems (BESS) and trial larger format charging bay layouts.

The charge point operator is also part of a 16-member advisory group within the Zero Emission HGV and Infrastructure Demonstrator (ZEHID) Programme that has helped create a new standard to aid the detailed design and layout of future eHGV charging sites.

Called BSI Flex 2071, it sets out the safety principles and optimal layouts for planning and operation of charging sites to help designers and operators ensure better interoperability and accessibility.

The Flex standard also offers practical guidance on drivers' welfare, site security and ancillary power needs.

Pete Bishop, chief technology officer at Gridserve Technologies, said: “Given the importance of eHGV charging infrastructure for the country’s industrial strategy, and the nascent nature of electric HGVs, the industry will need to constantly appraise existing charging technology, design new solutions and test robustly. That is what the EV charging test lab enables us to do.”

The company’s charging network for passenger vehicles, known as the Gridserve Electric Highway, has already benefited from rigorous test cycles within the EV charging test lab, helping to boost dependability and support the recent launch of a Gridserve EV charging app.

With truck manufacturers committed to bringing more battery-powered models to market over the coming years, it says that a suitable and scalable eHGV charging network is critical to success.

As part of the Electric Freightway programme, funded by the Department for Transport (DfT) and delivered in partnership with Innovate UK, Gridserve has committed to installing 200 eHGV high power chargers across 30 sites, including two 1MW-capable chargers.

The company is discovering suitable locations and designs, acquiring landowner permissions and grid connections, the insights of which will be shared in a second Electric Freightway report to be published later this year.

Sam Clarke, chief vehicle officer at Gridserve, said: “This bespoke facility shows our commitment to deliver the world’s most reliable EV charging ecosystem for all electric vehicles.

“Access to a controlled site like this will be invaluable for developing and delivering eHGV charging infrastructure at the speed and scale necessary to address the climate emergency, while ensuring an equitable transition into electrification for the UK haulage industry.”