Nottinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service was one of three fire and rescue services in a fleet electrification programme for the Midlands Net Zero Hub and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. Dynamon used ZERO to test the service’s support vehicles against their real journeys and to size depot charging at each location. The service’s fire engines had no telematics, so they were left out.
Fleet
Commissioned by
Key findings
- 66 vehicles modelled from 128 registered. Fire engines had no telematics, so the study covers support vehicles only.
- 88% of modelled vehicles complete at least 95% of journeys on a current electric vehicle (54 at 100%, and 4 at 95–99%).
- 25 locations assessed, with depot chargers recommended at every one.
- 31 chargers recommended: 28 at 11 kW and 3 at 50 kW.
- Around 20% lower grid upgrade cost where co-located police and fire sites share electrical infrastructure.
“By combining Dynamon’s analysis with real operational fleet data and input from police subject matter experts, this project provides a robust evidence base for understanding the scale of police fleet electrification and the investment needed to deliver it.”
Kate Kirk-Walsh, Net Zero Projects Manager, Midlands Net Zero Hub
The challenge
Fire and rescue services have to keep appliances available for emergency response while they plan which vehicles can switch to electric. Nottinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service registered 128 vehicles across 25 locations. The service’s fire engines had no telematics and were left out, so the results cover support vehicles only.
The service still needed a practical answer for that support fleet: which vehicles can complete their journeys on a current electric vehicle, where chargers should go, and how much power each site will need.
Nottinghamshire Police and Nottinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service share a joint headquarters at Sherwood Lodge. Police and fire sites in the county sit close together, so any charging plan also has to consider whether the two services can share electrical infrastructure.
The approach
Dynamon was commissioned by the Midlands Net Zero Hub and DESNZ, with the Home Office. The work with fire and rescue covered three services: Nottinghamshire, South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire.
ZERO imported the service’s telematics, simulated each modelled vehicle’s real journeys against current electric vehicle models, sized depot chargers per site, and worked out site power demand. Of the 128 vehicles on the fleet list, 66 had enough telematics to be modelled.
Nottinghamshire was one of three regional clustering studies that looked at police and fire sites together, alongside Nottinghamshire Police. South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire were studied in the same way. Ambulance services were included in the Midlands Net Zero Hub clustering work.
The results
Of the 66 support vehicles modelled, 54 complete 100% of their recorded journeys on a current electric vehicle. A further 4 complete 95–99%. Together, that is 58 vehicles, 88% of the modelled fleet.
ZERO recommended 31 depot chargers. All 25 locations need them.
These figures do not include the service’s fire engines. Those appliances had no telematics and were excluded, so the charging recommendation is for support vehicles only.
The clustering studies found that shared electrical infrastructure at suitable co-located sites could cut grid upgrade costs by around 20%. In Nottinghamshire, police and fire already share a headquarters at Sherwood Lodge, which is one example of how close the two services sit.
- 28 chargers at 11 kW
- 3 chargers at 50 kW
Part of a national programme
This study was one of 12 fleet reports. Across those fleets, about 7,500 vehicles were registered at 480 locations, and about 6,400 vehicles were modelled on 26.5 million miles of telematics.
Of the vehicles modelled, 82% — about 5,300 — can go electric at their next replacement while completing 95% or more of their journeys. The programme recommended 1,563 depot chargers in total.
Regional clustering in Nottinghamshire, South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire looked at police and fire sites sharing electrical infrastructure, with ambulance services included in the Midlands Net Zero Hub programme. At suitable co-located sites, shared infrastructure could cut grid upgrade costs by around 20%.
Midlands Net Zero Hub has published the national assessment of all 48 UK police forces and agencies. It estimates about 18,300 charge points across more than 2,000 police sites, and an investment of about £1.4 billion. Around 80% of that cost is grid connections and electrical upgrades.
Fleets that took part received ZERO access for further scenario planning.
ZERO gives Nottinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service a vehicle-level view of which support vehicles can electrify, and the 31 chargers needed across its 25 locations. A plan for the fire engines needs telematics this study did not have.