£100 million secured for clean multi-charging and fuelling hubs

Aegis Energy, a green energy supplier, has secured £100 million funding from Quinbrook Infrascture Partners (Quinbrook), a specialist global investment manager, to build the UK’s first clean, multi-energy recharging and refuelling facilities for commercial vehicles.

These hubs will be able to meet the needs of all green truck and van operators, catering for electric, hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), hydrogen, and bio-compressed natural gas (CNG) models.

The transition to net-zero transport requires a suitable, nationwide network to deliver the power needed to HGV and van operators, which can be a logistical challenge. Over half of electric van drivers (52 per cent) do not have access to at-home charging. 

Aegis Energy thus aims to deliver a public infrastructure that is truly one-of-its-kind and will able the next wave of decarbonisation to take place. An average Aegis Energy site is expected to reduce carbon equivalent emissions by approximately 14,300 tonnes per annum.

Quinbrook’s investment is its first foray into sustainable transport, and complements its wide range of net zero projects across the UK, US, and Australia.

An initial five-station network is set to be complete by the end of 2027, with stations planned in Sheffield, Immingham, Warrington, Corby and Towcester. Aegis Energy has grid connections in over five locations, and will begin construction on the first station in 2025, set to open in 2026. The larger plan is to create a large network of up to 30 hubs by the end of the decade, making Aegis Energy a leader in green transport and infrastructure.

The hubs will not only support high-speed electric charging, some of which will be bookable slots, but also other low carbon fuels like HVO and AdBlue, hydrogen and bio-CNG. Each hub will have the capability to charge or fuel more than 40 HGVs and around 25 vans at once

The hubs will also include driver facilities, giving HGV and van drivers access to food, calm spaces, toilets and showers, as well as complimentary Wi-Fi while they wait for their vehicles to be recharged/ refuelled.

Christopher Thorneycroft-Smith, co-founder at Aegis Energy, said: “Aegis Energy was founded to help decarbonise the largest contributors to the most emitting sector in the UK. There is a growing pressure from regulators and consumers for commercial vehicles to decarbonise, making it a necessity for wining new business and maintaining customer loyalty.

"Yet the lack of appropriate infrascture is typically number one or number two on the list of barriers for fleet operators. Building depot infrastructure can be complex and grid connections are not easy, or cheap, to secure. Not only this, but long-haul operations require a top-up charge, and for van drivers, when at-home charging isn’t a practical solution, they lose time waiting to charge elsewhere.

“Our hubs will typically have capacity to charge/fuel 40+ HGVs and 25+ vans simultaneously. The transition will take time and play out differently for each fleet, but by providing public hubs with multiple clean energy charging and refuelling options, we’re supporting operators to choose how they want to make the transition. Quinbrook’s funding will help us ensure that critical energy infrastructure is reliably available where our customers need it, and support millions of vehicles to make an once-in-a-multi-generational change.”