Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners has secured a stake in Aegis Energy with an investment to kick off construction of clean, multi-energy recharging and refuelling facilities for commercial vehicles.
Quinbrook is targeting £100 million deployment over the next three years for the development of a network of hubs that will meet the needs of all truck and van operators transitioning to cleaner fuels including electric, HVO, hydrogen and bio-CNG.
An initial five station network will be completed by the end of 2027, with stations planned for Sheffield, Immingham, Warrington, Corby and Towcester, for all of which Aegis has secured “sizeable” grid connections. Construction of one of the sites (though Aegis does not clarify which) will begin this year and is scheduled to open early in 2026.
The company is targeting 30 hubs by the end of the decade. The public infrastructure, which Aegis says is the first of its kind, comes as an alternative to depot infrastructure, which can be unscalable or impractical where logistics operators lease their premises or there is a grid constraint.
According to Aegis, 52% of van drivers do not have access to at-home charging, so the public infrastructure the company will deliver is the “essential missing piece” that will enable low and zero emission trucks and vans to take to the roads.
Each hub is set to have capacity to charge over 40 heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) and 25 vans at the same time. Currently, the UK has only one dedicated truck-specific EV charging location – a service station on the M61 southbound, about halfway between Manchester and Preston.
Christopher Thorneycroft-Smith, co-founder of Aegis Energy, explained: “Aegis Energy was founded to help decarbonise the largest contributors to the most emitting sector in the UK.
“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.
“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.”
The investment from Quinbrook marks the firm’s first foray into the clean transportation sector. Other notable projects with its backing include the recently energised Rothienorman synchronous condenser plant, and the Cleve Hill 373MW solar + 150MW battery storage project, which is the largest consented development in the UK.
Keith Gains, managing director and UK regional lead for Quinbrook, said: “Quinbrook is uniquely placed to capitalise on emerging investment opportunities that drive impactful emissions reduction in hard-to-abate sectors like transport, and supporting innovators like Aegis that are creating new infrastructure investment models.”
Jatco and Nissan partner for EV powertrain manufacturing
Japanese-headquartered automotive automatic transmission manufacturer Jatco has opened a new facility in Sunderland where it will produce 3-in-1 electric vehicle powertrains for Nissan. Situated at the International Advanced Manufacturing Plant (IAMP), the plant could scale up to manufacturing other types of powertrains in the future.
The facility represents a £48.7 million investment into the UK and Jatco says it will create up to 183 skilled jobs. The facility is scheduled for completion in 2026.
Jatco joins a cluster of automotive and advanced manufacturing businesses located at IAMP, which is being delivered by Sunderland City Council alongside neighbouring authority South Tyneside Council. Global off-highway electric vehicle technology specialist Curtis Instruments has a research and development (R&D) hub in South Tyneside.
Councillor Michael Mordey, leader of Sunderland City Council and finance and investment portfolio holder at the North East Combined Authority (NECA), said: “Jatco’s decision to locate in the city is testament to the prowess of the city as a place to do business, and a vote of confidence in our workforce too.”
The manufacturing site will support Nissan’s EV36Zero project which is built on three new all-electric vehicles.
Alan Johnson, senior vice president, manufacturing, supply chain and purchasing at Nissan AMIEO, said: “Welcoming a key supplier to the North East of England provides a big boost to the efficiency of our supply chain. We look forward to continuing our long and successful partnership as we push towards our electric future.”
North Tyneside Council recently approved plans for a development that will see 30 rapid charging bays and 24 additional parking spaces. The charging hub will be accessible 24/7 and powered entirely by certified renewable energy.