Case studies / From funding to installation: delivering London Borough of Camden with EV depot charging

From funding to installation: delivering London Borough of Camden with EV depot charging

In the summer of 2025, the UK Government announced a £30 million depot charging scheme. The scheme offered businesses and local authorities fleets up to 75% off eligible project costs for installing the necessary infrastructure for charging zero-emission heavy goods vehicles (HGVs), vans, and coaches.

The scheme’s timelines were tight, with the application deadline on 30 November and installations required to take place before 31 March 2026.

The London Borough of Camden (LBoC) contacted Drax Electric Vehicles to take advantage of the scheme to install EV charging infrastructure at its Holmes Road depot.

The depot’s home to several of the council’s crucial fleet vehicles, and electrifying their fleet is part of the borough’s plans to reduce its environmental impact.

From funding to installation: delivering London Borough of Camden with EV depot charging - Hero Image

Our solution and process

We started the process by asking LBoC key questions about the site, including energy availability, consumption, current setup, and more. The funding was very clear that it would only cover installation costs, not any electrical upgrades. So, we had to design a solution that worked within the site’s existing capacity.

Having understood the available power and what LBoC were trying to achieve, we designed a setup that balanced fast charging and overnight capacity. To support daytime use, we recommended adding two additional 50kW dual-socket DC chargers. This would take the total on-site up to five, allowing quick top-ups to their electric van fleet during the day.

We are a hardware-agnostic partner, meaning not only can we recommend the best solution for the customer, but also adopt existing hardware. LBoC’s existing equipment comprised of three 22kW Alfen AC dual socket chargers. To make the most of the power available on site and to enable LBoC to charge more vehicles overnight, we recommended a further six 22kW dual-socket AC chargers. We connected these to a smart charging network, which manages how power’s shared across the site:

  • During the day, DC chargers take priority
  • Overnight, AC chargers run at full power
  • This approach makes the most of the available on-site energy without costly upgrades.

From plan to delivery

We submitted the proposal to Cenex, who were appointed by the Government to administer the scheme. We then carried out a visit with LBoC to confirm the details. This validated our initial design and costings. We undertook a site visit to gather all the necessary information to answer all the questions Cenex raised, and the visit confirmed our initial costings were correct. We also confirmed we could meet the scheme’s strict deadlines.

Once the funding application was confirmed, work began on 2 March. The project included:

  • Civil works
  • Installation of:
    o  Two 50kW Autel dual socket DC chargers
    o  Six 22Kw Alfen AC charge points
  • Adoption of existing Alfen AC chargers
  • Connecting all AC chargers to a smart charging network
  • Charge point management
  • Five-year service and maintenance package

The work was completed on time for the 31 March deadline.

More funding for 2026

In March 2026, the Government announced a further £140 million funding for the Depot Charging Scheme, to install charging infrastructure at fleet depots.

Applications for funding must be made by 30 June 2026, with projects to be completed by 31 March 2027.

As part of the wider scheme, funding’s also available for vehicles, including zero-emission trucks and vans.

Get in touch today

We’ll work with you to survey your site and understand your electrical capacity, gathering important data to plan what’s best for your organisation.

We’ll use this information to provide you with a bespoke quote and help you with the application process. We’ll be with you every step of the way.

To see how we could help your business, visit energy.drax.com/depot-charging.

Disclaimer

We’ve used all reasonable efforts to ensure that the content in this article is accurate, current, and complete at the date of publication. However, we make no express or implied representations or warranties regarding its accuracy, currency or completeness. We cannot accept any responsibility (to the extent permitted by law) for any loss arising directly or indirectly from the use of any content in this article, or any action taken in relying upon it.

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