The current state of electric fleet vehicles in the construction industry

Natasha Fry, Head of Sales at Mer UK - Fleet & Workplace, looks at the motivations and challenges behind electrifying the construction sector and why now is the time for companies to start electrifying their fleet vehicles

The construction sector is already in the process of moving to EVs. Some vehicles like forklifts have always been electric. But construction does face some serious challenges.

The industry knows that it needs to transition to EVs. But at present there aren’t many electric models for some of the heavy machinery we normally associate with construction sites. Things like bulldozers, dump trucks, cranes, loaders. At the moment a lot of organisations are in a predicament where they don’t have the vehicles or the option to electrify them, so that’s a massive barrier for the industry.

The construction sector is about more than building sites. It’s also about highways, telecoms, architects, consultants – all the infrastructure that support construction. So, companies like Bam Nuttall, Costain and Balfour Beatty might not have large heavy EVs, but they do have thousands of cars, panel vans and three-and-a-half ton vehicles, for example.

They are moving these to electric, which involves installing fleet charging infrastructure. So, they are becoming experienced in understanding the ins and outs of installing electric charging, the kind of demand for electricity that vehicles need and who to work with to solve their challenges.

The reasons for electrifying the construction sector are compelling

All industries are going to have to replace their ICE vehicles with zero-carbon at the tailpipe vehicles – whether that’s electric or even hydrogen – in the future. But for construction, there are some other compelling reasons. When construction companies are tendering for work, there are subsections in the tender document where they have to meet certain environmental criteria around emissions and noise, for example.

These are important for planning applications to be granted. Developers and commercial landlords will be interested to know how the construction company will meet their obligations to limit their carbon footprint and emissions and eliminate noise – not just for people living near building sites but also for the health and safety of their construction workers.

The challenges construction companies are facing when it comes to installing EV charging

One of the biggest challenges is when you have a large development going into a greenfield site where there’s no current connection to the grid. The developer will have to get a connection to power the compound, where the offices are. This might be temporary, but temporary could be anything up to five years for a big housing development, for example.

They are going to need an EV charging infrastructure to support the vehicles that work on the site. So, the earlier the construction company understands what it needs, and what is available from the DNO in that area in terms of a point of connection, the better. That’s where design and charging optimisation consultancy from an experienced charge point operator like Mer can add a lot of value.

Starting your journey to an electric fleet

The most important thing for construction companies that want to move to EVs is to get an organisation involved that understands the environment they have to operate in. It’s not enough to get someone who just understands the preparation or running an EV fleet. Unless all the dots are joined up and you’ve got a company that understands the whole environment, you won’t get an optimal charging experience. For example, if you’ve got a compound charging set up for vehicles, that’s a temporary location. So, you need to work with a company that understands how you deinstall the connection, or move it two miles down the road to the next part of the project.

You also need to work with someone who understands the demands on the vehicles, the types of vehicles and their workload. Someone who can advise you in the early days that understands the end result you are trying to achieve. And whose expertise goes beyond power.

It doesn’t make sense for a construction company to go it alone when our depth of expertise is on hand to help. Working with a company like Mer gives you access to all of our experience of electrifying hundreds of fleets of all sizes across all kinds of industries. We are experienced and agile enough to know that things always change in development projects. And we are big on collaboration with all of the stakeholders involved in things like land rights, wayleaves and easements, getting connections, managing installations and maintaining charge points.

A good place to start is Mer’s EV Design Consultancy, which helps fleet managers make a seamless and cost-effective transition to sustainable transportation. We address your pain points by providing comprehensive solutions that will help you optimise your budgets with detailed cost analysis, create customised infrastructure designs, and promote energy efficiency.

Download your free design consultancy checklist to ensure you’re covering the key processes to developing robust and efficient EV charging infrastructure