Six-Month Review of Electric Skip Loaders

Six months have passed since Powerday took delivery of our Volvo FE Electric skip loaders and put into operation in London.

For the last six months, these innovative vehicles have been serving clients local to our Willesden HQ, where the charging points are stationed. The aim behind adding the electric skip loaders to our fleet was to contribute to cleaner air in London as part of our commitment to carbon reduction and our Net Zero strategy. In the spirit of progress in our ever-changing industry, we believe it is important to be transparent, sharing our experience when testing sustainability initiatives such as this.

Environmental Impact

During the planning phase of acquiring the electric skip loaders, our calculations projected us to save approximately 60 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year, considering the road distances for the jobs they would cover. So far, we are glad to report that collectively they have saved approximately 35 tonnes of CO2, suggesting that we will meet our target on the current trajectory.

Being able to achieve the forecasted reduction in emissions is a significant benefit of using these vehicles and a substantial contribution to our ambitions of cleaner, greener solutions.

Operational Efficiency

Acquiring two electric skip loaders was an appropriate first step to open the door for any potential electric vehicles being added to our fleet in the future. It is allowing us to assess the pros and cons without being detrimental to business operations while still being commercially viable. Collectively, the vehicles have completed 969 jobs and counting, covering a distance of 14,164.73 km – competent vehicles for purpose that we are confident will continue to be a commercial success.

As foreseen, there were a number of small teething problems with the electric skip loaders, where they had to be taken off the road for repairs. The majority of these problems occurred early in the trial and were small technical difficulties such as software patches for intermittent engine warnings and things of this nature. Other notable occurrences include:

These occurrences were minor faults, and we are happy to report that they were resolved very efficiently by Volvo and Hyva as guaranteed. Any downtime for the vehicles was covered by spare vehicles for the drivers, meaning no loss of earnings.

From our understanding, these faults are not exclusive to electric vehicles, so there is no reason to suggest the use of electric skip loaders will be an operational risk moving forward. The battery capabilities allow the vehicles to complete at least six jobs per day as required and charging them overnight enables a smooth flow of efficiency as opposed to lost time in filling up with diesel when needed at any given moment.

Usability

Taking driver feedback into account when considering the success of the trial is important as they are the ones using them on a day-to-day basis. We spoke to Sean Cosgrove, who has been driving one of the vehicles, and these were his thoughts:

“Personally, my favourite thing about it is the smoothness of the drive, plus it’s a very comfortable vehicle in itself. I haven’t got to take time out of an already pretty busy day to fuel up, and the designated parking space is fairly nice.”

“With anything first gen you’re going to have problems. Although the lorry has broken down a couple of times seemingly out of nowhere and the lifting gear is quite slow, the actual drive of the lorry and lack of noise from it makes it a pleasant vehicle.”

Information about our Net Zero ambitions relating to our use of electric skip loaders can be found in our Sustainability Manifesto. We are excited to see how the vehicles fare for the rest of the trial and what potential opportunities may be presented in the future as a result.