Streamline introduces EVs to Orkney home delivery fleet

Logistics firm Streamline Shipping Group has electrified its last-mile delivery fleet on the islands of Orkney.

Streamline Shipping Group has introduced two Peugeot e-Experts to its fleet operating from its Kirkwall depot, where rapid chargers have been installed. Two more EVs are expected to be introduced to its fleet in Shetland in the coming months.

The EVs have a 200-mile range, allowing the firm to provide clean home deliveries across the island as part of a commitment to reducing carbon emissions.

Allan Brown, Orkney & Shetland services manager said: “Orkney is the undisputed home of renewable energy in the UK, so it was a natural location for us to start the electrification of our last-mile delivery fleet.

“With nine times as much renewable energy per household than the UK average, Orkney has fully embraced the future of the energy industry and we’re excited to be making our own first steps into a cleaner, greener future.

“We work every day with major distributors including DPD, Hermes, TNT, FedEx and DHL to ensure that Orkney residents receive their parcels and deliveries, and we’re incredibly proud to be investing in electric to make the service even greater.”

Streamline’s EVs are part of a wider plan to reduce the business’ environmental impact, which also includes a long-term project with the Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise and local authorities to investigate the feasibility of hydrogen-powered vehicles in the haulage industry.

Operations director James Roberts added: “We have had a long relationship with the Orkney community, providing essential freight and delivery services to local residents and businesses since 1987. To be investing in the future of a greener transport industry in the UK home of renewables is a huge step forward for us, and for the sector as a whole.

“We’re committed to looking at reducing carbon emissions across our business, and for innovative ways to do that – whether through changes to the way we operate or the vehicles we use, or through participation in large-scale projects that have the potential to revolutionise the way freight is transported around the world.”