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World’s biggest commercial EV project wins environmental sustainability prize

Optimise Prime, a leading industry alliance of which Centrica is headline member, wins the Environmental Sustainability category prize at the 2019 Hitachi Transformation Awards.

Changing social attitudes, concerns over climate change and air quality, stringent government regulation and rapid technological advances are accelerating the shift towards electric vehicles. Demand for EVs is rapidly growing, putting increased pressure on businesses to make the switch across their commercial fleet.

Nonetheless, while many organisations recognise the benefits of EVs, they need to overcome significant challenges before they’re able to adopt them – from developing the right distributed energy model for delivering efficient charging, to separating personal and business power use where vehicles are charged at drivers’ homes.

Award-winning EV alliance


As the world’s largest commercial EV project, Optimise Prime is tackling the full range of challenges that organisations are facing as they transition to electric transport. Bringing together an alliance of leading power, technology, transportation and technology companies, including Centrica, Optimise Prime is testing and implementing the best approaches to rolling out electric vehicles for commercial enterprises. Watch our video to find out more:

Recognising the significant value Optimise Prime is driving for businesses and society, the alliance was awarded the Environmental Sustainability category prize at the recent 2019 Hitachi Transformation Awards.

The Hitachi Transformation Awards aim to inspire leaders across different industries to embrace the digital revolution. Award winners were selected from more than 35 nominations collected from over 100 countries worldwide. This year, Hitachi Vantara acknowledged customers in the following categories: Enterprise Business Transformation, Data Insights Optimization, Social Innovation and Environmental Sustainability.

Challenges of large-scale electrification


Led by global data technology solutions provider Hitachi Vantara and electricity distributor UK Power Networks, Optimise Prime is taking 3,000 electric vehicles to the road, from organisations including Centrica, Uber and Royal Mail, supported by distributor Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks, Hitachi Europe and Hitachi Capital Vehicle Solutions.

Its ultimate aim is to develop practical ways to overcome the up-front costs that prevent many of the country’s biggest commercial vehicle operators from making the switch to EVs. It will help to overcome the challenges of large-scale electrification of commercial vehicles, by delivering an end-to-end view of what the switch to EVs means: for the infrastructure that delivers electricity to the community; for businesses that need to invest in new infrastructure; and for the end users that need to power their vehicles.

If your organisation is considering making the switch to EVs, we invite you to download our latest whitepaper to learn more about the opportunities and challenges that should be considered, and the ways in which Centrica Business Solutions can support your transition.

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