South Yorkshire Police needed a plan for electrifying 701 vehicles across 56 locations. Dynamon used ZERO to replay 12 months of telematics, test which vehicles can complete their real journeys on a current EV, size depot chargers, and flag the sites that need a grid upgrade.
Fleet
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Key findings
- 673 vehicles modelled from 701 registered, on 12 months of telematics.
- 93% of the modelled fleet can complete at least 95% of journeys on a current EV.
- 214 chargers recommended at 43 of 56 locations: 173 at 11 kW and 41 at 50 kW.
- 30 sites of the 43 charging locations need a grid upgrade.
- 7.0 million miles and about 200,000 journeys, the largest dataset in the programme.
“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
South Yorkshire Police registered 701 vehicles across 56 locations. The force needed to know which of those vehicles can switch to electric at replacement, where depot chargers should go, and whether each site's electrical supply can support them.
The telematics record is the largest in the programme: 12 months of data, 7.0 million miles and about 200,000 journeys. A plan built on averages would miss how those vehicles actually move between the county's operational sites.
The approach
Dynamon imported the telematics into ZERO and simulated each vehicle's real journeys against current EV models. Of the 701 vehicles on the fleet list, 673 had enough data to model.
ZERO then sized depot chargers for each site and worked out the power demand those chargers would place on the supply. Because the sites' electrical data was available, this is the one report in the programme that compares that demand with the existing supply and flags where a grid upgrade is required.
South Yorkshire was also one of three regional clustering studies. Police and fire sites were assessed together, alongside South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue, to see where the two services could share electrical infrastructure.
The results
406 modelled vehicles complete 100% of their journeys on a current EV. A further 220 complete 95–99%. Together, 626 vehicles (93% of the modelled fleet) can go electric at the next replacement while completing at least 95% of their journeys.
43 of the 56 locations need depot charging. ZERO recommended 214 chargers. 30 of those 43 charging sites need a grid upgrade before the chargers can be installed.
- 173 chargers at 11 kW
- 41 chargers at 50 kW
Part of a national programme
This study is one of 12 emergency-service fleet reports Dynamon produced for the Midlands Net Zero Hub and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, with the Home Office.
Across those fleets, about 7,500 vehicles were registered at 480 locations, and about 6,400 were modelled on 26.5 million miles of real telematics. 82% of the modelled vehicles, 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.
Clustering studies in Nottinghamshire, South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire looked at police and fire sites together, and at ambulance sites in the Hub's 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 around 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. South Yorkshire Police received access to ZERO for further scenario planning.
South Yorkshire Police now has a vehicle-level electrification plan drawn from 7.0 million miles of real journeys, a charger layout for 43 sites, and a list of the 30 locations where the grid has to be upgraded first.