Electric vehicle (EV) fleet and battery storage specialist Zenobē has opened its new Innovation Centre in Railway Triangle Industrial Estate, Portsmouth, with the intention of using the site to accelerate firms’ adoption of electric fleets.
The company intends to test EV charging solutions and technology to identify cost-effective and optimal charging solutions for fleet operators, with the particular aim of advancing the development of electric transport solutions.
Zenobē reports that the centre has the capability of charging multiple buses and electric vehicles at one time through use of a Powerskid, a 100kW battery storage asset produced from second-life batteries.
The Powerskid is a clean and portable temporary power source, built using refurbished EV batteries, which the company hopes to use to assess technologies such as V2G charging and grid enhancement services to support the additional power required for EV charging.
“The Innovation Centre is an evolution of our service offering and will ensure we give even better service to our customers in two ways – by testing components, chargers and other equipment continuously and by enabling us to commission and integrate equipment before anything arrives on site ensuring a smooth customer experience during this important but sometimes overwhelming transition to zero emission fleets,” said Steven Meersman, founder and director, Zenobē.
Zenobē will also use the centre as a testbed to understand how infrastructure can be scaled up and implemented to better support fleet operators’ switch to electrification.
It also plans to use the Powerskid to trial different vehicle and charger models to better understand the two’s relationship.
At the launch, Penny Mordaunt, MP for Portsmouth North, said: “Zenobē’s new Innovation Centre facility and its commitment to continuously testing and researching new technology that supports the sustainable transition of the UK’s bus, truck and van fleets to electric will ensure that we meet our ambitious commitment to our net zero goals.”
Fleet operators can now book a visit to the site, with Zenobē offering firms the opportunity to speak to its team of experts about vehicle electrification options.
