Wednesday, January 8, 2025
Electric VehiclesLatestNews

Bradford Council adds 100% electric gritter to fleet

Bradford Council are trialling an EV gritter which is 100% electric and with a range of 170 miles, enabling it to complete gritting routes throughout the city area.

The vehicle aims to enhances the council’s commitment to sustainability with zero emissions, and also represents a “significant set towards a greener future” while maintaining the high standards of its gritting service, the local authority said.

It can achieve a full charge in less than two hours, runs near silent over its 170 mile range, depending on load and road conditions. The benefit of the electric vehicle is it has no tail pipe emissions of carcinogenic diesel fumes, which affect the health of our communities and it saves carbon emissions so helps us respond to the Climate Emergency, the council said.

The gritter leased from Yorkshire-based Econ Engineering who are funding by Clean Air Zone revenue so is offering a saving to the council base budget. It is expected that there will be operational savings cost per mile of around 0.13p/mile, based on current cost/KW and current price per gallon of diesel.

The council is assessing replacement of its entire vehicle fleet with EV equivalents, and said it was “keen to evaluate” how moving to fully EV gritters could be possible in the future, based on the trial during the 2024/25 winter season.  

This trial will assess the vehicle’s attributes on different routes, capturing real time data from the vehicle such as the location, vehicle performance and battery life. The performance data will be analysed and used to assess the practicality of EV gritters for future years as well as on the use of new cost saving technologies.

Callum Mapplebeck, Principal Engineer at Bradford Council said:

“Our drivers have reported that the electric gritter is a lot cleaner to recharge rather than refuelling, has no oil so there are no oil leaks and it a is offers a quiet drive which is a benefit when gritting in residential areas.”

Bradford Council’s Lead Member for Regeneration, Transport and Planning Councillor Alex Ross-Shaw said:

“It is great to be extending the number of fully electric vehicles in the Bradford Council fleet as we move forwards looking ambitious target of achieving net zero carbon by 2038. It is important that we explore new technology solutions, switching to electric is as an investment for the future, and a powerful tool for reducing CO2 emissions.”

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