Research project

Alternative Fuel Feasibility Assessment

Project overview

The aim of the Alternative Fuel Feasibility Assessment project was to support Southampton City Council (SCC) in the development and adoption of an Electric Vehicle Action Plan (EVAP), setting out the charging infrastructure requirements to support the uptake of Electric Vehicles (EVs) across the city over a five-year period, and to consider options for alternatively fueled Heavy Duty Vehicles (HDVs) operating in the city.

The project consisted of a set of discrete tasks agreed with SCC according to their priorities. The principal task involved analysis of the provision of residential on-street EV charging infrastructure in urban areas where residents do not have access to off-street parking at home for convenient over-night charging. Provision of such infrastructure removes a recognised barrier to EV uptake. A practical method was developed for Local Authorities to identify suitable locations for the initial installation of charge points. The method was based on simple Geographic Information System (GIS) analysis of routinely available census and parking data to identify the spatial overlaps between areas where residents are most likely to be EV users and areas with a high reliance on residential on-street parking. The method has been implemented in practice to determine a charging infrastructure installation strategy for Southampton, where 129 streets were recommended as suitable locations.

Other tasks included: calculation of baseline figures for the number of EVs using Southampton’s road network to provide a basis for undertaking future, repeat assessments of the situation; development of a methodology for monitoring Southampton’s charge point network to provide a guide for future investment in network expansion; analysis of the scope for electrification of the Light Goods Vehicle fleet operating in Southampton; and assessment of the infrastructure requirements and procurement options for alternatively fueled (e.g. natural gas or hydrogen) HDVs within the Council’s fleet, with provision for other key organisations and fleet operators (e.g. the city’s bus operators) where opportunities for collaboration arise.

Staff

Lead researchers

Professor Tom Cherrett

Prof of Logistics and Transport Mgnment

Research interests

  • Understanding and improving the distribution of goods and the management of freight vehicles in urban areas, including the supply of goods to hospitals and the use of consolidation centres; 
  • How optimisation techniques can be used to improve system efficiency and in what ways Intelligent Transport Systems (smart tagging of assets and the use of smartphones) can improve operating efficiency; 
  • Approaches to more effectively collect and manage the movement of waste in terms of both household domestic waste collection strategies, Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC) management and joint domestic/commercial waste collection strategies. He has worked on a number of research projects in these specific areas: (Department for Transport grant PPAD 9/142/034, ‘Optimising vehicles undertaking waste collections' GR/S79626/01, SUE project 55 ‘Transport and Logistics'; EP/D043328/1, ‘Green Logistics'.
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Other researchers

Dr Matt Grote

Research Fellow Transport & the Envirmt

Research interests

  • Mitigating road traffic impacts
  • Sustainable aviation
  • Practical modelling methods
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Collaborating research institutes, centres and groups

Research outputs