Coolvan wins grant to develop electric refrigerated van

Coolvan has won more than £500,000 of Government funding to develop an electric refrigerated van.

Working in partnership with scientists from the University of Warwick, control systems specialists from Siemens and a refrigeration engineering company, CoolVan will take the lead in designing the vehicle.

It’s one of 62 projects to receive investment from a £20m fund that was created to unlock some of the barriers to electric vehicle (EV) adoption.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: “Ahead of major climate summit COP26 this year, investment in exciting projects such as these is key to making the switch to electric vehicles more attractive for drivers than ever before.

“Not only will they propel us further towards our net-zero ambitions, they will also help harness some of the brightest talent in the UK tech industry, encouraging businesses to become global leaders in EV innovation and creating jobs as we build back better.”

Managing director of CoolVan Chris Warburton added: “The hospitality sector relies on daily deliveries of fresh, chilled and frozen food, but the days of the diesel delivery van could be numbered.

“As UK cities seek to build back better and more sustainably post-pandemic, many are accelerating plans to restrict access to traditional internal combustion engine vehicles – presenting a serious challenge to the logistics and delivery industry.

“We have been trialling electric vehicles and low emission refrigeration systems for several years now and have built a number of prototype vehicles.

“The combination of additional funding and the opportunity to work with highly skilled and experienced partners such as Siemens and the University of Warwick will accelerate the delivery of a viable zero emissions refrigerated vehicle to operate safely in cities across the UK.”