Determining Future Energy Demand of B&R Team Vans with Full On-Board Power

Determining Future Energy Demand of B&R Team Vans with Full On-Board Power

Status: Live
Reference: NIA_WWU_02_75
Lead Network: WWU - Wales and South West England
Start Date: 01 February 2025
End Date: 01 July 2025
Budget: £116,413.00
Funding Mechanism: Network Innovation Allowance
Technology: Carbon Emission Reduction Technologies, Electric Networks, Gas Distribution Networks, Gas Vehicles, Green Gas
Collaborating Networks: Cadent, Wales & West Utilities
Project Partners: The supplier for this project is Cenex. The project will be wholly funded via NIA with WWU as lead network.

Abstract

Wales & West Utilities is undertaking a major programme of change to support decarbonisation and deliver a Net Zero gas network. Decarbonisation of the vehicle fleet is an integral component of that programme.WWU operates a fleet of nearly 1,400 commercial vehicles, the majority of these being vans up to 3.5 tonnes GVW. Our fleet – mostly diesel-fuelled - plays a crucial role in providing a safe and efficient service. In addition to our vehicle fleet, WWU operates ~ 900 items of mobile plant, including mini diggers and a wide range of trailers, many of which are specialised. WWU vans carry a wide range of power-operated tools and equipment, some of this currently being powered by hydrocarbon fuels, some by electricity and some by compressed air. Approximately a third of our van fleet (~400 units) is equipped with ‘full on-board power’ – a compressor and generator, mounted under the van floor and mechanically driven by the diesel engine and operating as a source of on-site power. This group of vehicles primarily supports below-ground network repair and replacement activity: it is a significant energy consumer, so to help us understand how we can make an operationally cost-effective transition to zero emissions, it is the on-site energy requirements of the tools and equipment powered by this group that Cenex will evaluate for this project. This evaluation will provide information which can take account of (and feed in to) a range of different scenarios for the fleet in the future, such as changes to the number and type of vans allocated to particular teams and projects.

While WWU work closely to monitor and mitigate emissions for BAU, we don’t fully understand the day-to-day energy input requirements of individual parts of our operations because we rely on a fossil fuel energy source. Using diesel for energy supply across a wide-range of operational equipment has negated the need to understand the specific energy requirements for the different equipment used. We need to understand these requirements in detail in order to progress to ZE operations. Furthermore, the existing operational equipment that we use is polluting and whilst there are commercially available battery alternatives in some cases, there are new technologies that need to be explored. We need an understanding of what a complete transition to ZE would mean in terms of effectiveness, availability, and emissions. This needs to be done to make the best decisions to optimise future investment which is ultimately of benefit to the consumer. This project endeavours to undertake an initial study to address these gaps in our current knowledge. This type of work has not yet been done before; the work, although specific to WWU’s fleet, is anticipated to be of value to all GB networks that own similar operational vehicle fleets.

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