Decarbonised commercial vehicle infrastructure firm Aegis Energy has revealed two sites in Yorkshire and Humber where it is planning recharging and clean refuelling hubs as part of a £100m plan.
Following backing from investors Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners, Wakefield-based Aegis is planning a series of clean, multi-energy recharging and refuelling facilities for commercial vehicles at Pioneer Park, Stallingborough and Smithywood Business Park in Sheffield. The Humber site extends 3.5 acres and is intended to serve the nearby Port of Immingham, while the South Yorkshire location will be roughly six acres and is close to the M1.
The two hubs are part of a wider £100m plan to develop an initial five-station network by the end of 2027, and including sites in Warrington, Corby and Towcester. Aegis plans to create up to 30 hubs by the end of the decade, in a bid to support truck and van operators transitioning to cleaner fuels including electric, hydrotreated vegetable oil, bio-compressed natural gas and hydrogen.
The hubs will feature bookable, high-speed electric charging and will have the capacity to charge and refuel about 40 HGVs and 25 vans simultaneously. They will also feature secure parking and driver facilities including toilets, showers, food offer and calm spaces.
Christopher Thorneycroft-Smith, co-founder at Aegis Energy, said: “Aegis Energy was founded to help decarbonise the largest contributors to the most emitting sector in the UK. There is growing pressure from regulators and consumers for commercial vehicles to decarbonise, making it a necessity for winning new business and maintaining customer loyalty. Yet the lack of appropriate infrastructure is typically number one or number two on the list of barriers for fleet operators.
“Building depot infrastructure can be complex and grid connections are not easy, or cheap, to secure. Not only this, but long-haul operations require a top-up charge, and for van drivers, when at-home charging isn’t a practical solution, they lose time waiting to charge elsewhere. Our hubs will typically have capacity to charge/fuel 40+ HGVs and 25+ vans simultaneously.
“The transition will take time and play out differently for each fleet, but by providing public hubs with multiple clean energy charging and refuelling options, we’re supporting operators to choose how they want to make the transition. Quinbrook’s funding will help us ensure that critical energy infrastructure is reliably available where our customers need it, and support millions of vehicles to make a once-in-a-multi-generational change.”
Keith Gains, managing director and UK regional lead for Quinbrook, said: “Quinbrook is uniquely placed to capitalise on emerging investment opportunities that drive impactful emissions reduction in hard-to-abate sectors like transport, and supporting innovators like Aegis that are creating new infrastructure investment models. Targets under the UK’s Zero Emission Vehicle mandate highlight the existing gaps in the infrastructure needed to provide accessible clean energy to transport fleets.
“This presents significant opportunities for Aegis Energy to build market-leading refuelling hubs and we look forward to supporting its growth and expansion throughout the country.”
Original artice – https://business-live.co.uk/all-about/yorkshire-humber
