Drax Electric Vehicles takes part in GreenFleet EV Rally!

Summing up why Drax took part in the event, Naomi Nye – Head of Sales for Drax Electric Vehicles – said: “The EV Rally helps to demonstrate what’s possible. By disproving negative media coverage about vehicle range, model availability, the UK charging infrastructure, and how electrification can help businesses achieve their net zero ambitions, it shows that electric’s the way forward. At Drax, we’re passionate about helping UK businesses electrify their fleets, so it makes perfect sense for us to participate.”

The Drax EVs team and other colleagues not only drove the whole distance between them, but also hosted “Checkpoint I” (for Innovation) at the Drax Sports and Social Club. We welcomed over 100 EV experts – from companies including The AA, Europcar, OVO Energy, National Grid and Paua – to this local community hub alongside the plant near Selby, North Yorkshire.

The teams arrived around lunchtime, and took advantage of the much-needed refreshments on offer. We also provided access to an interactive exhibition about the power station’s 50th anniversary of generating electricity for the country, plus games (including golf and pinball). These helped explain other aspects of operations across the Drax Group.

For example, Drax also produces and distributes sustainable biomass pellets worldwide – with Drax Power Station (DPS) being a key customer, alongside others in Japan, Asia and Europe.

Soon, Drax will also start producing and selling carbon dioxide removal (CDR) credits – called Carbon Removals - relating to bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS). Having successfully trialled BECCS at DPS in recent years, we’ll soon use the technology to generate renewable power while capturing carbon dioxide at new-build BECCS sites across the US.

As a reliable renewable power technology, available 24/7, BECCS will be vital in helping the US (plus the UK and other nations) to decarbonise their economies. That’s because it complements and supports the expansion of renewable generation powered by intermittent sources – e.g. solar and wind – that are likely to play a part in the growth of EVs too. To help satisfy the surge in demand accompanying the transition to electric vehicles, grids will need to combine these less reliable generation sources with hydro, BECCS and other dispatchable solutions.

We filmed interviews with the teams too, to better understand why they were taking part and hear their thoughts about important topics in the EV arena. You can see these short videos on the Drax Electric Vehicles LinkedIn page.

During the week, the drivers in our team recorded in-car conversations about the public charging facilities they were using and the future of EVs. And after they crossed the finishing line, we also asked about their EV Rally highlights and to talk about what they’d learned.

UK is charging ahead

Tim Cole, Head of Marketing at Drax, summed up his experience of using the public charging facilities by saying “I’m happy to report there were no problems with the charging infrastructure at all – we charged when we wanted, and it was nice and quick!”

Naomi expanded on those sentiments by saying, “The infrastructure’s out there, including rural locations. Yesterday, we did 370 miles and stopped for a very quick top-up charge while we had a snack! The industry still needs to do more education around it though, as people don’t understand the network. Basically, it’s no different from doing the same journey in a petrol or diesel vehicle. You’d probably make one or two stops to break up the journey, refuel, and get refreshments.”

EVs forever

For Rosario Surace, EV Charging Specialist at Drax, many of the checkpoints – including “I” for Innovation at our own power station – were highlights. The stop at the Heugh Battery Museum also impressed and gave him a vision of the future. The site features artillery left over from the UK’s only First World War battlefield site, which all the drivers found interesting. And the location’s views out to an offshore wind farm suggested the possibility of the UK having a charging network supported by renewable energy sources.

Remembering the rally – highlights and learnings

Naomi’s highlight was the number (around 50) and type of vehicles (from an electric motorbike to a 40-tonne truck with trailer) involved in the rally. She summarised this by saying, “For me, this really demonstrates that EVs are suitable for a wide variety of commercial and operational scenarios.”

And the biggest learning related to her driving style. “The telematics data we had from Webfleet, the rally’s Official Technology Partner, was very interesting. It offered valuable insights into driver behaviour and energy efficiency over the five days. That’s useful information I’ll carry forward into driving my Tesla.”

Rosario has similar thoughts to Tim about the UK’s infrastructure. “I normally don’t rely on the public network, since I drive a Tesla and use their super-chargers. I also have the facilities at Drax sites, and my home charging set-up. Now I can use my first-hand experience of the public network to inform my conversations with prospects and customers – especially those that don’t have their own infrastructure.”

Tim’s highlight was the collaboration and networking between the different teams taking part. Terry Mohammed, Head of EV Charging Installation and BD with BMM Energy Solutions (part of Drax), echoed these sentiments: “Meeting like-minded people who have a passion and flair for decarbonisation is liberating! And, having seen the public network and EV trucks in action over the five days, everyone at BMM feels we should switch our fleet to electric as soon as we can.”

For more highlights, watch this Carpool Conversation with Naomi and Rosario.

Stay up to date with all the Carpool Conversations and interviews with industry experts by following us on LinkedIn at Drax Electric Vehicles.