Drax Group plc
Drax Group plc
10/11/2021 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/11/2021 05:04
Drax launches new platform to accelerate electric vehicle uptake
- A new EV management portal from pioneering renewable energy company Drax aims to simplify fleet management and help more businesses switch to EVs.
- Drax's My Electric Vehicles combines real-time information on EVs, charge points and businesses' energy consumption into a first-of-its-kind intuitive tool.
- New EV platform aims to support UK businesses to reach net zero and builds on other Drax services which help them take control of their energy use through the electrification of their fleets and the optimisation of their operations.
The market-leading tool provides businesses with the vital real-time data to effectively manage their electric vehicle fleet. It combines data on their electric vehicle fleet, charge points and energy consumption in one user-friendly platform.
My Electric Vehicles shows how vehicles are performing, flags issues and offers solutions on how to resolve them, reducing vehicle downtime and improving productivity. Through an interactive map, businesses can see their full EV fleet, and charge points across the country in real-time.
Road transport accounts for over a quarter of the UK's emissions, and business sales make up around two thirds of new electric vehicle registrations in the country, so decarbonising this sector will make a significant impact on the UK's journey towards net zero.
Adam Hall, Director of Energy Services at Drax, said:
"Decarbonising road transport will play a vital role in enabling the UK to reach its legally binding 2050 net zero target . By bringing together vehicles, charge points and energy usage into one convenient place, My Electric Vehicles enables departments from across businesses to work hand in hand with each other, making fleet electrification - and cutting carbon emissions - easier for everyone."
Since August 2021, Drax has been working with SES Water, providers of clean water to parts of Kent, Surrey, and South London, to trial My Electric Vehicles across their EV fleet.
Henrietta Stock, Energy and Carbon Manager at SES Water, said:
"We started our electric vehicle journey with Drax in 2019, and by bringing their expertise to the partnership, they've really accelerated our progress.
"My Electric Vehicles has enabled us to access live data on vehicle movements and charging station usage all in one place, facilitating our day-to-day fleet management and helping us plan for the future through better understanding of vehicle and charging point utilisation. As we work to deliver our net zero carbon routemap by 2030, this digital tool will be vital."
To launch My Electric Vehicles, Drax is hosting the 'EV Fleet Academy' -, a series of webinars for businesses. The event series will kick off today (11th October) with discussions on a LinkedIn group, followed by a live-streamed panel event hosted by motoring journalist Quentin Willson on 12th October.
During the two-week EV Fleet Academy, businesses will have access to four informative webinars and other content, covering a range of topics on fleet electrification.
To register for the event, go to the website: https://campaigns.drax.com/fleet-academy
ENDS
Media contacts:
Beth Howard or Jamie Wilson
Notes to editors
Launch of My Electric Vehicles forms part of Drax's electrification services:
Drax Electric Vehicles: Drax Electric Vehicles takes the hard work out of switching to EVs. It offers businesses an end-to-end electric vehicle service, from building the business case, to installing and managing charging stations.
Drax Electric Assets: Drax Electric Assets enables businesses to streamline their operations by optimising their assets, reducing energy consumption, and improving efficiencies.
For more information visit www.energy.drax.com
About Drax
Drax Group's purpose is to enable a zero carbon, lower cost energy future and in 2019 announced a world-leading ambition to be carbon negative by 2030, using Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) technology.
Its 3,400 employees operate across three principal areas of activity - electricity generation, electricity sales to business customers and compressed wood pellet production and supply to third parties.
For more information visit www.drax.com
Customers:
Drax is the largest supplier of renewable electricity to UK businesses, supplying 100% renewable electricity as standard to more than 370,000 sites through Drax and Opus Energy.
It offers a range of energy-related services including energy optimisation, as well as electric vehicle strategy and management.
For more information visit www.energy.drax.com
Power generation:
Drax owns and operates a portfolio of renewable electricity generation assets in England and Scotland. The assets include the UK's largest power station, based at Selby, North Yorkshire, which supplies five percent of the country's electricity needs.
Having converted Drax Power Station to use sustainable biomass instead of coal it has become the UK's biggest renewable power generator and the largest decarbonisation project in Europe. It is also where Drax is piloting the groundbreaking negative emissions technology BECCS within its CCUS (Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage) Incubation Area.
Its pumped storage, hydro and energy from waste assets in Scotland include Cruachan Power Station - a flexible pumped storage facility within the hollowed-out mountain Ben Cruachan.
Pellet production and supply:
Drax owns and has interests in 17 pellet mills in the US South and Western Canada which have the capacity to manufacture 4.9 million tonnes of compressed wood pellets (biomass) a year. The pellets are produced using materials sourced from sustainably managed working forests and are supplied to third party customers in Europe and Asia for the generation of renewable power.
Drax's pellet mills supply around 30% of the biomass used at its own power station in North Yorkshire, England to generate flexible, renewable power for the UK's homes and businesses.