Alternative Fuel Strategy and Action Plan for East Anglia
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority
New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership
Norfolk and Suffolk Clean Growth Taskforce Meeting
Katherine Orchard
Edward Wilson
8
th
November 2021
2
The Alternative Fuels Strategy and Action Plan for East Anglia has been commissioned to
enable the transition to net zero emissions while supporting recovery objectives
Project context and key objectives
The Alternative Fuels Strategy (AFS) for East Anglia aims to:
• Support clean growth by providing the necessary
infrastructure for businesses, residents and commuters
• Support the decarbonisation aims of Local Authorities
that have declared climate emergencies
• Accelerate the uptake of EVs and hydrogen vehicles in
the region which has historically been behind the
national average
• Improve air quality through uptake of zero emissions
vehicles
• Provide a combined vision across the region to result in
greater impact
• Support the creation of commercial opportunities and
develop an innovative supply chain
Today’s objectives
• Introduce the project in terms of approach, outputs, and
timeline
• Give a brief overview of the current situation for alternative
fuelled vehicles in the region
• Gather your views on how the AFS can benefit from and
foster innovation in Norfolk and Suffolk (and wider East
Anglia area)
Core project team:
Katherine Orchard, Senior Consultant – Experienced in
low carbon freight transport and EV charging strategy.
Leads Element Energy cross-sectoral net zero analysis.
katherine.orchard@element-energy.co.uk
Ed Wilson, Consultant – Experienced in zero emission
vehicle supply chain considerations as well as wider
alternative fuels.
edward.wilson@element-energy.co.uk
3
Element Energy, a consultancy focused on the low carbon energy sector – our vision is to see net zero
carbon achieved as rapidly as needed to avoid damage to human and environmental well-being
Element Energy covers all major low carbon energy sectors:
Selected clients:
Energy Networks
Smart Energy Systems
CCUS & industrial
decarbonisation
Hydrogen
Low Carbon Transport
Built Environment
Public sector
NGOs
Public-Private
Partnerships
Private Sector
6
The project will be delivered between September and March, divided across two core Phases
The key objectives of the Alternative Fuels Strategy and
Accompanying action plan are to provide:
• An understanding of the current policy and funding
landscape for alternative fuels at local and national
level
• An evidence base of likely alternative fuel uptake and
best practice policy for supporting this uptake
• A costed and deliverable programme of measures to
address barriers to uptake, which reflects the specific
challenges and opportunities of the region
Phase 1
– Alternative Fuels Strategy
Phase 2
–
Action Plan
1. Policy review
2. Funding opportunities review
1. Existing vehicles and infrastructure
2. Scenarios for projected uptake
3. Residential charging demand analysis
Targeted engagement and
workshops to:
• Gather data, align priorities
and identify local
opportunities for innovation
and investment
• Gain feedback and buy-in
into regional actions
1. Refinement and prioritisation of actions
2. Development of Strategy Document
WP 1: Review of current situation
WP 2: Alternative Fuels Uptake
WP 4: Stakeholder
engagement
WP 3: Opportunities and actions
WP 5: Development of the Action Plan
1. Alternative fuels opportunities by mode
2. Opportunities for innovation
3. Review of best practice
4. Long-list of recommended actions
Key outputs
• Phase 1: Technical report detailing evidence base
• Phase 2:
̶ Public-facing strategy document
̶ Costed and deliverable action plan
7
Input from local stakeholders will be critical to ensure the strategy fully reflects the needs
and opportunities of the local area
Q4 2021 Q1 2022
Core engagement period
Clean Growth Taskforce Meeting
8
th
November
Clean Growth Taskforce Meeting
5
th
January
Targeted stakeholders:
Private sector:
•
Cambridge Norwich Tech Corridor
•
Greater South East Hub
•
Fleet operators: Buses, Car clubs,
Large commercial fleets
•
Additional interested parties
•
Network operators
Public sector
•
Local Authorities (workshops –
Cambridgeshire & Peterborough,
Norfolk & Suffolk)
There will be a number of opportunities for
engagement:
• Scheduled Clean Growth Taskforce meetings
• Local authority workshops (where relevant)
• Additional feedback by email or calls
Final Action Plan delivered
9
The strategy will consider a range of low and zero emissions technologies and supportive
infrastructure
Powertrain options within scope include:
• Electric vehicles (EVs) – including plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) and battery electric vehicles (BEVs)
• Hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs)
• (bio)methane – supplied as Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) or Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) – bridging fuel for Heavy
Goods Vehicles
H
2
Vehicle scope
10
Cambs &
Peterborough
SuffolkNorfolk
Light duty vehicles: Uptake of electric cars and vans in the region is below average for the UK
*Shown as weighted average of 0.57% across UK (BEVs as a percentage of total stock). Unweighted average is 0.63% across the 371 local authorities
Electric cars and vans in East Anglia split by local authority and as a
proportion of total local car and van stock
0
500
1,000
1,500
1.0%
1.5%
0.5%
1,465
331
North Norfolk
927
Cambridge
Gt Yarmouth
844
Breckland
Broadland
Norwich
South Norfolk
East Cambs
Peterborough
Fenland
Hunt’shire
South Cambs
Babergh
1,184
East Suffolk
Ipswich
Mid Suffolk
West Suffolk
KL and WN
1,276
365
415
113
669
319
382
324
570
418
175
341
416
Number of cars % of total local authority stockNumber of vans
2020 BEV Stock (cars and vans)
National average* (0.57%)
Proportion of car and van
stock within local authority
There are an estimated 8,600 electric
cars and 800 electric vans in East
Anglia as of 2020
Summary
11 of the 18 local authorities are
below the national average in terms
of EV uptake
Generally the more rural local
authorities have the lowest EV
uptake, in particular those in Norfolk
i
ii
iii
Note: Figures are based on EE cleaned version of the DfT’s statistics on vehicle stock
by local authority. The cleaning process involves redistributing company cars across
the country, as they normally do not operate in the region of their registration. 97%
of BEVs registered in Peterborough are company cars and thus have been
redistributed, which represents a significant anomaly. The precise number of BEVs
operating in Peterborough is thus hard to determine.
11
Heavy duty vehicles: There is limited uptake of alternative fuel vehicles among buses and
heavy goods vehicles but upcoming opportunities will improve this
Sources: DfT Vehicle licencing statistics, Element Energy market research
Buses
• There are 5,200 buses registered in East Anglia, with 5 major
companies operating over 100 vehicles.
• The proportion of low emissions vehicles is low across the
region:
– Currently 2 BEV buses in Cambridge
– Previously 13 biomethane buses in Norwich but no
longer in fleet
• However, this will increase as two regions successfully
applied to Zero Emission Bus Regional Area Scheme (ZEBRA)
Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs)
• There are 24,400 HGVs registered in East Anglia, with over
400 vehicles operated by Councils and close to a quarter
operated by fleets with more than 100 vehicles
• Only 45 are known to run on natural gas (liquified natural
gas, see later slide)
• Close to 6% of registered vehicles are in fleets with a known
interest in gas trucks, and 4% are in fleets involved in an
Innovate UK-funded freight consortium focused on
deployment of hydrogen vehicles
ZEBRA scheme plans:
• CPCA (fast track): Funding will be used to fund 30 new
electric double-decker buses, primarily used on short busy
routes in Cambridge. Will require match funding from bus
operators, the Transforming Cities Fund and Greater
Cambridge Partnership’s City Del.
• Norfolk (standard track): Aiming to replace 15 single deck
buses with electric buses, and install supporting
infrastructure. Supported by First, buses would operate on
routes through Norwich City Centre.
Heat map of HGVs in East Anglia
Selected fleets with local
depots and interest in AFVs
12
Norfolk SuffolkCambs &
Peterborough
South Norfolk
Norwich
82
Mid Suffolk
Gt Yarmouth
KL and WN
North Norfolk
Cambridge
East Cambs
Fenland
Hunt’shire
West Suffolk
South Cambs
Babergh
22
East Suffolk
Ipswich
51
54
Breckland
Peterborough
47
23
36
57
73
Broadland
71
54
22
8
45
72
25
62
89
76
EV charging: There is limited EV charging infrastructure in East Anglia outside of the major
towns and 80% of chargers are 25 kW or less
*An EV charger is the standalone charging device, often a tall box with multiple connectors coming out of it.
**Where the charger has multiple connectors, the rate shown is that of the fastest connector
3-5 kW 101-350 kW
7-25 kW
43-50 kW
51-100 kW
Max rate at charger**
Electric vehicle chargers* in East Anglia EV charging sites in East Anglia
Average per
local authority
in East Anglia
13
Green gas infrastructure: There are very limited existing refuelling options for (bio)methane in the
region and no current hydrogen refuelling stations
Hydrogen refuelling stations (HRS)
in the UK today
Key
Heat map of HGVs and current GB
gas stations
High density of HGVs
Major road network
Additional stations
Large gas stations
• There are currently two semi-private gas stations in
East Anglia, both in Cambridgeshire and both
dispensing LNG
• However, CNG Fuels, the largest operator of public-
access (bioCNG) stations, has ambitious expansion
plans over the next 5 years and East Anglia could
offer an opportunity for targeted sites
Biomethane
• Most hydrogen refuelling stations are small and
target either light duty vehicles or buses
• The lack of rollout of hydrogen vehicles to date in
East Anglia means that no stations have been
developed in the area
• However, as hydrogen rolls out more widely,
innovation will be needed to enable a step
change in the number and size of stations
• Local hydrogen production projects may offer
opportunities to drive uptake in the area
Hydrogen
14
There are many local transport incentives and innovation projects that the Alternative Fuels
Strategy can leverage
Sources: 1 – Element Energy work for PIRI. 2 - Voi electric bike and scooter trial, Cambridge City Council. 3 - Live Labs: A Smarter Suffolk, Suffolk County Council. 4 - AtoBetter
cycle vouchers terms and conditions, AtoBetter
• CPCA have been trialling Voi e-bikes (50) and e-scooters (300) in
Cambridge since October 2020, supported by the DfT’s wider e-
scooter trial programme
• The vehicles are accessed via an app and charge users based on the
time they are unlocked for.
• The trial is due to end in October 2021 and its success would see e-
scooters and e-bikes legalised in Cambridge, which could greatly
contribute to reducing private car use
3
• The Peterborough Integrated Renewables Infrastructure project
will combine a heat network, electricity network and contribute to
electrifying transport in the area
• The project will include 3 main transport developments:
1. Installing a 50 EVCP rapid hub at Bishop's road car park in
Peterborough. This will be one of the biggest rapid hubs of its
kind
2. Converting Peterborough City Council's fleet to EVs. This is a 3-
phase process that must conclude by 2030, as 2030 is PCC's net
zero deadline
3. Electrifying parts of stagecoach's bus fleet in Peterborough. As
many of the routes are too demanding to be electrified, the
project is looking at opportunity charging. The project is looking
to install an opportunity charging station in Queensgate bus
station in the centre of Peterborough. The idea here is to have 3
high powered rapid chargers that give buses a short burst of
energy during breaks of around 15 minutes so that they can
electrify on some of their shorter routes
1
• Suffolk County council recently secured £4.4m of DfT funding for
communicating to residents how SMART technology could improve
local services (through the ongoing Live Labs project)
• The Live Labs project involves installing road side sensors and
leveraging BT’s Data Exchange platform to deliver data to the
Council on how to improve its transport and highway based
services
4
• Norfolk County Council’s ‘AtoBetter’ sustainable travel incentive
encourages residents in certain developments to cycle or use public
transport to commute to work, funded by housing developers
• Incentives include cycle shop vouchers (£70), cycle course vouchers
(£30), bus travel vouchers (£80), train travel vouchers (£90), with
residents eligible for one cycle and one public transport incentive
2
16
Key topics for discussion
• Are there any local strengths where you see opportunities to link to/drive transport decarbonisation? Either through:
innovation, skills, wider strategies, or other
• Are there areas that you see as particularly challenging for decarbonising transport in East Anglia? E.g. skills gaps,
infrastructure, particular needs of major local business sectors, other
• Are there areas where East Anglia can or should look to lead ahead of action at national level?
• What roles do you see for local businesses in delivering transport decarbonisation in the area, both in their own operations
and in supporting wider change?
• What further support is needed to enable businesses to deliver that change and to retain value within the local area?
Driving change in East Anglia
Critical roles and needs of local businesses
