Electric trucks arrive on Loughborough campus05 October 2011

Loughborough University is lowering its road vehicle emissions and saving money, after investing in two new electric trucks for its maintenance team.

The Alke ATX 200E utility vehicles, supplied by ePower Trucks, can travel up to 50 miles on a single battery charge, will carry 500kg and tow up to 2,000kg.

ePower Trucks fitted one with a high mesh cage, for waste collection, while the other has a fully enclosed van box body. The vehicles are used by the maintenance team across Loughborough's 437 acre campus.

Clive Douthwaite, logistics manager for Loughborough University, says: "Environmental responsibility is very important to us, so we were determined to reduce emissions from our vehicle fleet. However, we wanted electric trucks that wouldn't break the bank and still deliver great performance.

"We chose the Alke vehicles after trialling EVs from various manufacturers," he continues. "We felt they were robust workhorses that performed really well, were very low cost to run and therefore offered the best return on investment."

The ATX 200E uses around 4p per mile in electricity; a saving of up to 80%, compared to a diesel van. The simplicity of the electric motor means that maintenance requirements – and costs – are also a lot lower than on a diesel vehicle.

Even when powered by National Grid electricity, the Alke ATX 200E still reduces CO2 emissions by up to 50%.

Author
John Challen

Related Companies
ePowerTrucks ( A divison of Lift Safe Ltd)

This material is protected by MA Business copyright
See Terms and Conditions.
One-off usage is permitted but bulk copying is not.
For multiple copies contact the sales team.