First Bus is giving shared access to charging facilities at its depots for third-party commercial fleets under a new collaboration.

The bus operator has teamed up with EV charging business Paua for the new Paua Share scheme, which delivers an aggregated shared depot proposition, all linked to one EV charging and payments platform.

Paua Share was developed off the back of an Innovate UK-funded project, which saw Paua work with Cenex, Suffolk County Council and Oxfordshire County Council to develop the mechanisms for depot, sharing successfully deploying this with a number of partners across sites in these regions.

The partnership with First Bus is the first step in commercialising this solution and allows Paua’s aggregated business fleet customers – including operators of larger commercial vehicles – to access an additional 11 depot locations equipped with ultra-rapid EV chargers, ranging from 150kW to 350kW speeds, all backed by renewable power.

These sites are strategically located across the UK to support operational flexibility and maximise vehicle uptime.

Paua Share will enable a greater range of fleets to benefit from the First Bus charging infrastructure at a lower cost and with features designed for commercial vehicles.

Niall Riddell, CEO and co-founder of Paua, said: “This partnership once again illustrates Paua’s leadership position. We envisage a Europe-wide network of shared depots as we build Europe’s lowest-cost commercial fleet charging network.”

Faizan Ahmad, director of decarbonisation at First Bus, said: “Sharing depot infrastructure unlocks enormous potential for commercial fleets, accelerating the shift to zero-emission transport while making smarter use of existing assets. First Bus are proud to have been pioneers in this space and further innovation and collaboration, as showcased here by our partnership with Paua, are key to building a truly integrated, low-carbon transport network.”

The introduction of shared depot charging forms a key pillar in Paua’s expanding commercial vehicle and truck charging network, helping to overcome one of the biggest hurdles in fleet electrification: access to suitable, high-powered, and secure charging infrastructure. In particular, the larger scale of the sites will suit the larger nature of commercial vans and trucks.

Research undertaken by the AFP in autumn 2023 showed almost six out of 10 van fleets (58%) would consider sharing their depot or public charging infrastructure with others to make electrification more practical and the AFP is imminently launching its platform to open up shared charging.

Paua Share will be available to all fleets including those using the AFP platform. The new solution starts with matchmaking a fleet with a depot. Then the fleet agrees any required sharing terms with the depot, which includes issues such as site health and safety, access hours or specific site rules. Drivers can then navigate to the site with dedicated information in the Paua app, arrive at the site, charge with their Paua card or app. This charging is all recorded in the Paua fleet manager dashboard and costs are centralised for the fleet. Paua also provides billing services to its depot customers who always remain in control of their selected visitors with Paua.