The outlets are for use by employees to encourage uptake of electric vehicles because research shows 40 per cent of electric car charging in Europe takes place at work.
20 Mar 2019 | 6983 Views | By Autocar Professional Bureau
Jaguar Land Rover has installed 166 smart charging outlets for electric vehicles at its Gaydon engineering centre. The outlets are for use by employees to encourage uptake of electric vehicles – because research shows 40 per cent of electric car charging in Europe takes place at work.
Charging points ...
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Jaguar Land Rover has installed 166 smart charging outlets for electric vehicles at its Gaydon engineering centre. The outlets are for use by employees to encourage uptake of electric vehicles – because research shows 40 per cent of electric car charging in Europe takes place at work.
Charging points will also be installed in the visitors’ car park, so guests can take advantage of convenient fast charging. This smart charging network is believed to be the largest single installation of its kind in the UK.
The 7kW AC smart charging stations, supplied by NewMotion (a Shell company), can add 22 miles / 35km of range to an all-electric Jaguar I-Pace every hour and 176 miles / 281 kilometres in total during an eight-hour day. The stations are cloud-connected and integrated with the NewMotion public charging network, so employees can charge at stations across Europe using a single card. Users can also monitor and track charging throughout the day with a smartphone app.
The charge points will offer both financial and environmental benefits for PHEV and BEV drivers alike, while providing a convenient and sustainable solution for employees who can’t charge at home.
Jaguar Land Rover sources 100 per cent renewable electricity – generated from natural resources including solar and wind energy – for its UK facilities, which will be used to power the infrastructure, providing carbon-free commuting to employees.
Jaguar Land Rover’s electricity supply is backed by Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin (REGO), meaning a proportion of EDF Energy’s renewable energy is ring-fenced for the company. In this case, the REGO scheme certifies that Jaguar Land Rover’s entire supply comes from renewable generation.
Mick Cameron, Head of e-Mobility at Jaguar Land Rover, said: “Every new Jaguar and Land Rover model line will be electrified from 2020, giving our customers even more choice. We have already introduced a portfolio of electrified products across our model ranges, including fully electric (BEV), plug-in hybrid (PHEV) and mild hybrid (MHEV) vehicles. The Jaguar I-Pace, Jaguar’s first premium battery electric vehicle, arrived in showrooms in March 2018 and has since won 55 international awards including European Car of the Year 2019. We hope that by providing a network of electric charging points to staff and visitors at our Gaydon engineering centre we can help encourage the uptake of alternative fuels amongst our employees.
“It’s all part of our commitment to acting more sustainably – our UK facilities are already powered by 100 per cent renewable electricity and we believe the new charging points will help our employees to tread lightly on their daily commute.”
Sustainability is at the forefront of the Design and Engineering centre in Gaydon. The new building is on track to receive a rating of BREEAM "Excellent" - a trusted mark from the Building Research Establishment (BRE) which represents the top 10% of UK new non-domestic buildings showing best practice in building construction and operation. The new building features the latest photovoltaic panels, thermal installation, low environmental impact construction materials and efficient LED lighting systems. These will help the building to achieve an improvement in CO2 emissions ahead of the national average.
Furthermore, around 80,000m3 of soil has been reused from the Gaydon construction activities to create an Ecological Enhancement Area (EEA) next to Gaydon village – equivalent in size to 15 rugby pitches. The EEAs recreate low nutrient grassland, lost through much of the UK's intensive farming, which support locally important butterfly and bee species.
Sytse Zuidema, CEO of NewMotion, said: “As leading provider of smart charging solutions in Europe, our data shows when EV drivers are charging their car, 40 per cent of the time this happens at work. For the best possible charging experience for companies and individuals, NewMotion offers a range of services to ensure charging is readily available for EV drivers at home, at work and on the go. Converting the parking spaces at Gaydon into the largest single site with smart charging locations provides that workplace charging opportunity to Jaguar Land Rover’s employees while our NewMotion charge card gives them access to the largest roaming charging network in Europe.”
Currently 75 per cent** of EV users are unable to charge their cars at work in the UK. The first phase of workplace charging will provide 166 smart charging spaces for electric vehicles at Jaguar Land Rover’s engineering centre in Gaydon before further chargers are installed at additional UK sites.