Fourteen new battery electric vehicles (BEVs) supplied by three different manufacturers will join the Gregory Group fleet, reports Peter Brown.
The Devon-based operator, who is in a joint venture with Hayton Coulthard and owns ARR Craib, John Mitchell and Pollock, joined the Zero Emission National (ZEN) Freight consortium last year.
It is focused on battery electric and hydrogen heavy goods vehicle demonstrations following a project reset, and is part of the UK Government’s Zero Emission HGV and Infrastructure Demonstrator (ZEHID) Programme, funded by the Department for Transport (DfT) and delivered in partnership with Innovate UK.
The aim of the initiative is to accelerate the shift to zero-emissions HGVs and to build a comprehensive national network of public and depot-based charging installations.
Gregory Group’s legal and sustainability director Paul Jefferson said the ZEHID programme is another step that will help the company achieve its net zero by 2038 goal.
“It is hugely encouraging that such initiatives are underway because as well as the motivation from logistics companies such as us to drive positive change, we also need the infrastructure and technology to back us,” he continud.
“The ZenFreight consortium consists of organisations that are helping make our ambitions a reality and we are excited to be part of such a revolutionary and essential shift in the logistics industry.”
The 14 BEVs will be charged on a newly installed EV infrastructure. By the Summer, most of the vehicles will be on the road delivering a wide range of goods from bread to packaging.
This includes using one of the BEVs for the collection of milk from farms. Which says the operator will be a UK first.
Angela Butler is Gregory Group’s managing director. “Many of our customers share our ambitious sustainability targets and we have been working in partnership with them to deliver their carbon reduction strategy,” she explained.
“The ZEHID programme is helping to fast forward some of these plans giving our customers the insight needed to make long-term decisions on their carbon reduction strategy. It is yet another positive step in the direction of a net zero logistics industry.”
Gregory Group is a privately owned logistics companies with 50 sites, 20 warehouses and 1,400 vehicles, and employs 3,400 people.
