In March, Hitachi confirmed that 2019 would see London and the South East play host to Optimise Prime - a UK Power Networks (UKPN) project. The project aims to understand the charging patterns of commercial (fleet) electric vehicles (EVs) and their impact on networks.

In March, Hitachi confirmed that 2019 would see London and the South East play host to Optimise Prime - a UK Power Networks (UKPN) project. The project aims to understand the charging patterns of commercial (fleet) electric vehicles (EVs) and their impact on networks.

The project seeks to answer how the network impact of commercial EVs can be quantified and minimised, the value of smart solutions for EV fleets and private hire vehicle operators and what infrastructure is needed to enable the transition.

Ken McRae, General Manager at Pixie Energy, said:

"EVs have reached a stage that they are ready to be used on a broader scale and as the UK continues to move towards decarbonisation of transport it is vital that the industry understands the impact of this transition to the electricity distribution network.

"Research in Pixie Energy's latest insight paper - Arming the fleet - accelerating businesses scale adoption of EVs - found that when it came to commercial fleets, there is an absence of clear policies to enable fleets to adopt EVs.

"With UKPN focusing on the fleet network it should start the process of considering this vital part of the UK transport network. As well as this, the project will seek to measure the impact on the network and combat any issues to enable EVs to be rolled out more effectively.

"UKPN claims that this project alone will deliver over £485mn in direct financial benefits, release 3,188MVA of connection capacity and result in 4.2mn tCO2e savings by 2050. The supply of so many EVs in a short timeframe will be a milestone achievement, with UKPN seeking more extensive benefits through instigating flexibility measures."