LowCVP News: The Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership (LowCVP) announced the 2017 Low Carbon Champions last night at the ‘green transport’ networking event of the year, held in association with Energy 2017 at the NEC, Birmingham.
Over 240 guests attended the celebration dinner to celebrate the achievements and innovation of organisations and individuals who are leading the UK towards low emission road transport. The event was hosted by TV personality, science communicator and Formula E presenter, Nicki Shields.
Transport for London, BYD (bus manufacturer) and Go-Ahead London (operator) have jointly won the ‘Grand Prix’ – or winner-of-winners – award for their effective partnership in delivering the vehicles, operational capacity and infrastructure to begin running London’s first two all-electric bus routes (507 and 521). Waterloo bus garage has been remodelled to accommodate over 50 electric buses and new charging infrastructure in a space-constrained environment. Working with infrastructure supplier, SSE, the partnership has overcome technical challenges to transform the garage into a large-scale, fully-electric operation.
The London EV Company (which changed its name from the London Taxi Company earlier this year) scooped the Low Carbon Car/Van Manufacturer of the Year prize. The judges said that LEVC has shown leadership and innovation in bringing to market the UK’s – and the world’s – first purpose-built electric taxi. In just three years the company has designed and built the vehicle, using a local supply chain and adopting a range of novel design and assembly processes.
David Martell, Founder and Chief Executive of Chargemaster – one of the leading companies in the booming EV charging sector – is the LowCVP’s 2017 winner of the award for Outstanding Individual in Promoting Low Carbon Transport.
Roads Minister Jesse Norman MP said: “The UK boasts a dynamic, innovative automotive sector and British companies are leading the way in developing low emission technologies for road transport.
“Congratulations to the winners of the Low Carbon Champions Awards. These important achievements highlight the progress being made as we strive to meet our ambition for every new car and van to be zero emission by 2040.”
The LowCVP Managing Director Andy Eastlake said about the Awards: “All the entries that were short-listed for this year’s Awards deserve praise for their contribution to cutting road transport carbon emissions and helping to reduce air pollution.
“Against the backdrop of a year of political and environmental turmoil it’s perhaps appropriate that our overall winning entry required a strong collaborative approach to radically reduce the impact of a whole bus fleet.”
The Champions Awards judging panel was comprised of 25 senior executives from across a range of UK organisations with a stake in the low carbon road transport agenda.
Commenting on the Grand Prix award, the judges said: “To accommodate over 50 electric buses and charging infrastructure in a space-constrained environment, the group worked tirelessly to remodel the Waterloo bus garage. The manufacturer, BYD, and the operator, Go-Ahead London, worked with Transport for London and in close cooperation with infrastructure supplier SSE, to bring this challenging project to fruition.”
On the Outstanding Individual Award, the judges agreed that: “David Martell has shown great commitment to the electric vehicle industry over the past decade. While rapidly expanding his company to be a leading player in the booming EV charging sector, he has developed partnerships with authorities, government and vehicle manufacturers, helping to expand the electric vehicle market in the UK.”
Alex Burns, President, Millbrook (Grand Prix sponsor of the Awards) said: “Millbrook has been supporting the Low Carbon Champions Awards for a number of years. We are proud to be associated with celebrating investment and innovation in this field, and we are committed to supporting the industry to continue cutting road transport carbon emissions.”
Darran Messem, Chairman of the LowCVP and an Awards Judge said: “The LowCVP’s annual Low Carbon Champions Awards are a celebration of the commitment to innovation and delivery in the important task of reducing transport greenhouse gas emissions in the UK.
“This year’s winners of the LowCVP awards have delivered a phenomenally impressive list of achievements ranging from developing a new low carbon fuel to implementing a fully electric bus fleet, and they demonstrate not only the vibrancy of the UK’s low carbon transport sector but also its huge economic potential.”
Nathan Garnett, Event Director of Energy 2017, said: “We are delighted that the Low Carbon Champions are being announced alongside Energy 2017 and UK Construction Week. For us, joining infrastructure, pioneers of a low carbon future and the built environment together is a ‘no brainer’.”
