Leeds City Council is the second largest local authority in the UK. As the third largest and one of the fastest growing cities in the country, Leeds has a key role to play in ensuring a greener and more sustainable energy and vehicle infrastructure. Since first introducing electric vehicles to its fleet in 2016, Leeds City Council now has more than 330 electric vehicles on fleet—the largest of any local authority in the country—and is continuing to expand. Additionally, the authority has a fleet of 49 electric vehicles in a trial scheme which aims to encourage businesses, private hire drivers, public sector and third sector organisations to adopt electric vehicles to their fleets. The vehicles are available to be trialled for up to two months at a time.
Having declared a climate emergency in 2019 and committed to make Leeds a carbon neutral city by 2030, the council has rapidly increased its focus on promoting the utilisation of zero emission electric vehicles within the city as part of a decarbonisation focused transport strategy. To meet the 2030 target, we must persuade people to adopt more sustainable travel choices. Being involved in projects such as AMiCC is very much part of that process; seeking to establish and demonstrate the benefits of technology to harness the benefits of fleet electrification.
Leeds City Council is excited to test cutting-edge, innovative technology alongside leading industry partners on the AMiCC project. A number of the council’s strategic objectives will be supported by the project. AMiCC will enable us to continue working to decarbonise transport by increasing the range of vehicles able to transition to electric. The use and knowledge of electric vehicles will also be expanded and more user-friendly ways to charge will be explored.
Through the installation of three wireless charging points in two key service buildings we aim to demonstrate the use of contactless charging.
#ElectricVehicle #WirelessCharging #CarbonEmissions #EnergyEfficiency #Sustainability
Blog by Andy Hickford, Project Manager, Sustainable Energy & Air Quality, Leeds City Council
Project AMiCC is supported by Innovate UK and funded by the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV) as part of the On-Street, Wireless, and Catalysing Green Innovation Programme. With this initiative, OZEV has invested £50m in transformative R&D that puts the UK at the forefront of zero emission transport to help deliver on the UK’s decarbonisation goals and to anchor economic growth.