Smart Electric Urban Logistics

The global logistics company UPS is committed to greening its delivery fleet, but the lack of electric freight vehicles and electric infrastructure restrictions have held it back. Smart Electric Urban Logistics provides an innovative set of solutions which will support this change and make a vital contribution to cutting emissions in the key central London area. It will also provide a scalable set of outputs which other logistics and freight operators can implement to improve their vehicle fleets and ultimately the environment. A trial of electric vehicles forms the centre piece, with real duty cycles providing evidence for emissions reduction versus existing diesel fuel use. Instead of disruptive infrastructure improvement work, the project will focus on smart charging and making best use of existing supply through efficient use. An innovative time variance tool will provide a key mechanism for delivering efficiency, and this will help to create additional capacity in electrical supply with short lead-in times. A five year strategy for the electrification of UPS's entire central London fleet of 170 vehicles will result, moving the company towards its green objectives and providing an exemplar and real-world data for other UK organisations interested in the electrification of vehicles.