First Group Leeds
Working with Zenobē allowed First Group Leeds to implement multiple different vehicles at their depot over three phases.
01.
The Challenge
First Group initially wanted to deploy nine e-buses at its Hunslet Park depot for the Park & Ride service, with an additional five added for Phase two, as well as several electric minibuses.
The first phase of the depot was to support nine Yutong e-buses, however the additional e-buses introduced to the depot were manufactured Alexander Dennis/BYD and Mellor. This meant that the infrastructure and software solutions installed would need to work for multiple vehicles and charging options.
On top of that, the grid import capacity at the depot meant that the number of e-buses that could be charged at any one time was restricted.
02.
The Solution
Zenobē have been able to integrate our manufacturer agnostic, smart charging software across all vehicles and chargers. The versatility of our software means that First Group can charge and monitor all their assets on one platform, with full flexibility of manufacturer going forward.
On top of this, Zenobē financed all 14 e-buses and the charging infrastructure, bringing the CAPEX off-balance sheet and transforming it to OPEX. For the Mellor vehicles, Zenobē has provide a software only solution to suit our customer’s requirements.
We also managed the power procurement at each stage of the fleet expansion, installing a 500kWh on-site battery (BESS) to support the grid at peak periods.
In numbers
03.
Key Results
- Installation of smart charging software across multiple different e-buses and chargers
- Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) to support charging due to low grid capacity
- Innovative OPEX financing; Zenobē financed 14 e-buses and the charging infrastructure, removing the technology risk for First Group
