Novuna Vehicle Solutions has opened a flagship charging forecourt, showcasing its pioneering infrastructure capabilities for fleets.

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The site is located at the fleet leasing specialist’s premises in Trowbridge and incorporates a permanent cableless, fully wireless EV charging facility, said to be a UK-first.

Officially opened today, the forecourt features 12x 22kW AC charging bays, while a separate car park onsite is kitted out with 4x 100kW DC rapid charging bays.

The forecourt generates electricity from a solar canopy over the 12x AC bays, which is combined with a grid connection – this enables an estimated 70% of the energy consumed for employee charging to be sourced from Novuna’s own renewable generation. A 180kWh battery storage facility onsite equipped with an energy management system enables storage of unused solar generated energy, allowing the use of peak-saving trickle charging, delivering lower CO2 emissions.

The fully wireless EV charging facility uses charging pads across each of the parking bays, which are designed to accommodate cars and vans as well as ensure accessibility.

Novuna, one of the UK’s largest fleet leasing providers with over 100,000 vehicles, of which 30% are now fully electric, said the installation marries its innovation in leasing with intuitive EV charging.

The landmark installation will be used as a charging facility for the 300+ Novuna employees based at the premises – but also demonstrates the company’s work to comprehensively support fleets transition to battery electric vehicles through its pioneering decarbonisation propositions. Visitors to the site will be able to experience first-hand the variety of charging hardware technology available for fleets at their own depot and workplace sites.

A further key element of the installation is the introduction of a charge point management system and associated ‘My Novuna Charging’ driver app, which enables Novuna Vehicle Solutions to manage both its own charging network and its customers’ charge points effectively.

The system, which will also give fleet drivers access to other corporate, private and public networks in the near future, provides a real-time view of charging events and energy consumption alongside remote hardware maintenance for fleets.

Jon Lawes, managing director of Novuna, said: “The opening of our groundbreaking EV charging forecourt represents a major milestone not only for Novuna vehicle Solutions but for the entire contract hire and leasing industry.

“Our flagship charging facility in Trowbridge truly showcases, for the first time, the breadth of our unique end-to-end charging capability and the energy management solutions we can offer to fleet customers right across the EV charging ecosystem, helping them to future-proof their business operations.

“As a leading advocate for zero-emission vehicles, the launch of our sustainable state of the art EV forecourt also underlines our commitment as a company to carbon neutrality as one of the largest and greenest charging facilities in Wiltshire.”

The launch of the pioneering EV charging facility was attended by key industry figures including BVRLA head of policy and public affairs Thomas McLennan,  Zapmap co-founder Melanie Shufflebotham and Auto Trader’s commercial director, Ian Plummer.

Leading electric vehicle firms also present included BMW, Volvo, Cupra, VW, Genesis and Hyundai, plus EV stakeholders such as Michelin, RAC and Gridserve. They were joined by over 600 Novuna employees who work across the company’s premises in both Trowbridge and Newbury.