2024 Overview

09 January, 2025 | Dundee Electric

All the good things in 2024

2024 has been a busy and successful year and has brought a variety of EV-related projects to completion. From a completed depot site powered by renewable sources to an impressive recognition within the industry, we are glad to share our successes and other industry news from 2024. Read below for more details!

Success in numbers

Dundee City Council now boasts an impressive number of 123 public charge points across the city. This includes four rapid charging hubs at Lochee, Queen Street, Princes Street and our accessible hub on Clepington Road which opened in 2023 as well as three multi-storey car park charging hubs at Greenmarket, Olympia and Gellatly Street. Six out of those seven hubs are powered by solar provision. The number of on-street chargers has increased to 73 after adding 18 x 7kW points. These on-street chargers have been installed across nine different areas throughout the city and even include sloped surfaces. Following the accessibility standards, this installation improves the accessibility of charge points in Dundee and increased the number of accessible chargers to 24, which equals 19.5% of all charge points owned by Dundee City Council. It is also worth noting that the private sector continues to expand their network in the city. With an ultra-rapid charging hub opened in 2024 and another charging hub to be installed in 2025, this is a positive sign for the growing demand for electric vehicle chargers in Dundee.

Europe’s first fully retractable chargers

June 2024 brought the official launch of 18 fully retractable chargers installed across the city. This pioneering electric vehicle charging infrastructure complements an earlier developed rapid charging hub on Clepington Road and strives to further improve the accessibility of a wider variety of charge points in Dundee, this time including on-street charging solutions.

Following the BSI PAS 1899:2022 standard created by the British Standards Institution, these chargers rise from the ground to a user-friendly height when needed and retract flat and flush underground when not in use. This design ensures pavements remain clear and accessible for pedestrians, reducing trip hazards. Other ease-of-use elements to benefit disabled motorists include dual sockets that are 80cm above ground level when the UEone is raised, as well as a one-handed cable insertion mechanism and auto retract feature. Also being the ideal solution for EV drivers without access to off-street parking, their installation in Dundee is a significant step towards the EV accessibility of Dundee.

Clepington Road depot

Completed in 2024, a former coal mining area at Clepington Road is now what we think is one of the largest EV charging depots for any local authority in the UK. Covered with solar canopies providing 600kWp, 25x7kW chargers are available for overnight and weekend charging and 2x50kW and 1x100kW chargers for topping up and additional resilience. This is enough to power 200 electric vans located at the depot.

The added battery energy storage further highlights the Council’s pledge to move over to electric vehicles. When the sun is not shining, energy is drawn from the second-life battery storage solution so no energy is wasted.

Charger provision at Kingspark School

To future proof the depot charging network, the council has also invested in two 22kW chargers at the school so that the minibuses can be charged overnight ready for service in the morning. This installation was put in place for electric minibuses which will be used for pupil transport at Kingspark School.

Conferences hosted in Dundee

An event coinciding with the official launch of the newest version of the retractable chargers was hosted in Dundee on 5 June 2024. The Charge Up conference was held at the Apex hotel, where attendees were provided with insights into the successful deployment and procurement of the new charging infrastructure in Dundee. The event brought together representatives from Scottish local authority transport departments, businesses, and industry specialists. During a workshop, delegates shared their experiences and discussed approaches to procurement and implementation, and technical and operational challenges.

In August, GREENFLEET Scotland returned for the 16th consecutive year. As part of their net zero campaign, the organisation hosted the Mission Zero Roadshow, which took place across three Scottish cities – Edinburgh, Dundee and Inverness. The event aimed to connect Scottish businesses and local authorities and create an opportunity to engage with the programme, learn about solutions to overcome climate challenges, network with industry experts and discuss decarbonisation strategies. The highly attended event took place at the Apex hotel in Dundee on the 20th of August and included presentations and Q&A sessions from keynote speakers. Dundee City Council’s Fair Work, Economic Growth and Infrastructure convener, Councillor Steven Rome was invited to speak at the conference and share details of Dundee’s decarbonisation strategy.

Awards

Dundee City Council was a shortlisted candidate in many categories and chosen as a winner for multiple awards this year. Following are all the awards of recognition received by Dundee.

Fleet Vision International Awards 2024

Dundee was highly commended for the Clepington Road and Marchbanks depot decarbonisation projects in the Most Innovative Fleet Management category
Emma West – Fleet’s Low Carbon Project Manager was highly commended in the Young Industry Champion

APSE Scotland – Striving for Excellence 2024 Awards

Dundee City Council was recognised with a Silver Award in the Fleet category for our fleet management strategy

Van Awards 2024

Dundee City Council won the Van Decarbonisation Award for Fleet’s emissions management framework

National Transport Awards 2024

Dundee was highly commended for the accessible elements of the rapid charging hub on Clepington Road in the Best Practice in Diversity, Inclusivity and Accessibility category

Electric Vehicle Innovation and Excellence Awards 2024

Dundee’s overall EV infrastructure strategy was recognised with an award in the Public Sector Infrastructure of the Year category

Transport and Energy Awards 2024

Dundee won the Best Accessibility Strategy or Project award for the accessible rapid charging hub on Clepington Road

London EV Show Awards 2024

Dundee received the Sustainability Award for the overall decarbonisation management plan

Green Fleet Awards 2024

GREENFLEET EV Champion was awarded to Fraser Crichton – Fleet's manager
The Public Sector Commercial Fleet of the Year award was granted to Dundee City Council for an excellent carbon emissions reduction rate and the implementation of a number of initiatives promoting sustainable practices.
Fraser Crichton was also highly commended in the Public Sector Fleet Manager of the Year category.

Green Skills Fund

The Institute of the Motor Industry predicts that by 2030, 103,000 TechSafe qualified technicians will be needed across the UK to meet the growing EV demand, increasing to 139,000 by 2032. Currently, only 18% of all technicians in the UK are trained to work safely on electric vehicles, which highlights a potential skills shortage in the future.

To address this challenge, Dundee and Angus College launched its Green Skills Fund funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund on 22 August. This significant move to support the decarbonisation of transport and reduce emissions offers fully funded electric vehicle training courses for mechanics, technicians, and electricians in Dundee City Council.

Additionally, the training suite includes the Level 1 Award in Electric/Hybrid Vehicle Awareness. This course is available to individuals and businesses that work around or use EVs as company cars, such as drivers, valeters, sales personnel, and support staff. The awareness training ensures that these employees can operate or work around electric vehicles safely, meeting health and safety requirements.

The course continues to run through 2025. Follow this link to learn more and sign up for FREE. https://dundeeandangus.ac.uk/for-businesses/business-team/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign&utm_content=ap_co5zfjrtsx

What’s next?

The Dundee Green Transport Hub & Spokes scheme focuses on transforming the existing West Bell Street Multi Storey Car Park into a multi-modal, sustainable transport hub which will complement the Abertay University Heat Network Plan. Proposals include electric vehicle charging points to be incorporated into the scheme along with electric vehicle car club spaces, cycle parking and bike hire.

A significant solar array and battery storage system will power the hub to limit additional strain on the grid. The hub will also create enhanced walking and cycling links to the city centre, providing residents with access to sustainable transport options that improve connectivity and make the city centre greener, safer, and a more attractive place to live, work and visit.

Dundee City Council are also looking to take the next step in the delivery of electric vehicle charging infrastructure in the city. The tender will include 2 different lots that will ensure continued delivery and expansion of the council-owned network in the city. Ensuring the citizens of Dundee have access to an accessible and reliable network that delivers value for money and encourages the uptake of electric vehicles amongst those who live, work & visit the city.

The two separate lots reflect the different services required by the council over the next 10-20 years of infrastructure development.

Lot 1 – Operation & Expansion of Hubs & Depot Charging

Relates to the operation of the existing charging hubs in Dundee and the expansion of this to include the delivery of a new rapid charging hub to the north of the city and an increase in charging hubs within council depots.

Lot 2 – On-Street & Community Infrastructure

Lot 2 is in relation to the installation and operation of the charge points to be installed as part of the Transport Scotland Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Fund (EVIF).

For Dundee City Council, this will initially consist of 125 on-street fast chargers (7-22kw) to be installed in community areas including residential streets, libraries, sports centres, etc. It is envisaged that the successful contractors for each lot will work in partnership with Dundee City Council to deliver an attractive and industry leading network in the city ensuring that customers have a positive experience while using the Dundee City Council owned network.

See you next year!

Testimonials

“I love my new Nissan Leaf… the forward-thinking city council are at the forefront of the whole electric car revolution”

Lorraine Kelly

“Electric taxis always surprise our customers with how quiet they are. The switch from fuel to electricity has saved us thousands – and it’s clean too!”

There are now a total of 187 electric taxis operating in Dundee which is 25% of all taxis operating in the city.

Dundee Taxis

“Electric vehicles have reduced the city’s cO2 levels by 987 tonnes so far (Sept 2017)”

Dundee City Council have 223 electric vehicles (and counting) in their fleet, the biggest of any UK local authority.

Gary McRae, Dundee City Council

“The excellent charging infrastructure in Dundee makes running an electric car very easy. I often plug in to one of the chargers in town, pop to the shops and my Nissan Leaf is fully charged by the time I’m done. I can’t wait to use the charging hubs that are planned across the city. The ability to park for free in the Dundee City Council car parks because my car has zero emissions is an added bonus.”

Elinor, Dundee

“We are now using an electric car since 2012 and will not go back to a petrol car. The drive is smooth, responsive and quiet. With Dundee getting better and better with chargers in several places, free parking in Council car parks, what’s not to like? The car has saved us money compared to the Ford Ka we had before, with currently over 90,000 miles, you can’t tell us it’s not used. Looking forward to the new charging hubs in Dundee.”

Erwin, Alyth

“EVs are over 60% cheaper to refuel than modern petrol and diesel cars and have only 1% of the moving components, so they’re really reliable. There are EVs that have clocked up over 174,000 miles in three years and only needed a ball bearing replaced. Switching to an EV from a 70mpg hybrid and charging it at home has saved me £500 per year on fuel and maintenance alone – double that if I only use Dundee’s free public charge points!”

Euan, Dundee University graduate

“Our two electric vans have completely transformed our business. Not only have they helped reduced our running costs, but they are much better for the environment and work well with the stop start style of driving that we do on our free pick-up and delivery service. The move over to electric vehicles has been extremely easy due to the excellent facilities for charging in the local Dundee area. We are even considering adding a third electric vehicle to our fleet.”

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