Fruit 4 London, a distributor of fresh fruit to offices and residents in the capital, will trial the use of Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) technology to power electric vehicles (EVs) within its current fleet. The trial, which is part of the broader V2G demonstrator project led by Cisco, E-Flex, will explore the commercial opportunity this technology presents through more efficient use of electricity and the ability for EVs to release energy back into the grid when they are not in use.
Founded in 2008, Fruit 4 London is looking to expand its territory while continuing to provide the high-quality and green service to its base of 800 existing customers. With the majority of orders delivered on a Monday and other weekday mornings, its EVs can spend over half the week out of use. The company therefore hopes to see significant commercial gains from charging and releasing electricity in accordance with demand.
“We’ve always wanted to have complete control over our carbon emissions and it’s equally important to the majority of our customers that we are 100% green,” said Gabor Doroghazi, Co-Founder and CEO, Fruit 4 London. “Through E-Flex, we’re able to reach our sustainability goals and control our costs more efficiently helping our business scale.”
E-Flex will install bidirectional chargers at Fruit 4 London. Along with charge scheduling and fleet monitoring dashboards, which will allow the company to manage their electricity consumption when the EVs are not in use, electricity can be bought and taken from the grid at off-peak times when it is less expensive. Moreover, it can be sold and released back to the grid when energy is in high demand and consumption is more expensive.
“It’s more important than ever before from a commercial and sustainability perspective that companies are actively seeking to minimise their carbon emissions,” said Maria Hernandez, Head of Innovation Cisco UK & Ireland. “V2G technology has the potential to transform the way urban logistics is powered and is a win-win for fleets and distributors. In addition to helping make the air in UK cities cleaner, E-Flex aims to demonstrate the commercial viability of V2G infrastructure, helping companies maximise the value of their fleets in and out of action.”