Infrastructure specialist Costain has entered a three-year charging partnership with Elmtronics to help it transition its UK fleet to EVs.

Richard Jones of Costain with Natasha Fry, Elmtronics at Costain’s Maidenhead office

The UK business recently joined the EV100 initiative run by the Climate Group and has pledged to change its vehicle fleet and reduce corporate carbon emissions from its car fleet to net zero by 2030. The work is one of four key pillars of change outlined in its Climate Change Action Plan.

To support its goals, Costain started looking in early 2021 for a partner that could provide EV charging infrastructure to power its 3,000-strong fleet.

Natasha Fry, associate consultant at Elmtronics, explained: “As well as needing future-proofed charge points to keep their fleet on the move now and in years to come, Costain was looking to work with a supplier who could also provide an easy-to use back-office software system to manage its entire EV network across all its sites.”

The partnership has already led to 12 charge points being installed at Costain’s head office in Maidenhead and a further six at its Manchester site. Over the next three years, charging infrastructure will be installed across all Costain’s UK offices, so the company can support the growing use of EVs by staff, clients, supply chain and partners.

All the charge points will be connected under a single network, using Elmtronics’ Hubsta software, enabling Costain to easily create user accounts for employees and monitor how much CO2 is being saved. Staff can also use the Hubsta app to access other compatible charge points nationwide.

Mark Ashenden, head of supply chain: fleet and plant at Costain, said: “Elmtronics has worked closely with us throughout the procurement process to develop the charging solution that Costain was looking for. Their collaborative approach gives me confidence that the relationship will continue to develop and that they will be key to helping us achieve our target for a net zero company car fleet by 2030, as part of our Climate Change Action Plan.”