Maritime Transport to contribute real-world insight to Ofgem-funded Future Fleet project
Posted Today
The UK’s leading provider of integrated road and rail freight logistics, Maritime Transport, is supporting a new Ofgem-funded innovation project exploring how freight operators can plan for the electrification of HGVs while working within the constraints of the UK’s energy network.
The Future Fleet project has secured funding from Ofgem and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) through the Strategic Innovation Fund, managed in partnership with Innovate UK and led by UK Power Networks. Four innovation projects have been awarded funding in this round, each focused on driving the UK’s transition to Net Zero while addressing challenges linked to changing patterns of electricity demand and use.
Future Fleet brings together logistics operators Maritime Transport and Voltloader, megawatt charging solutions provider, Voltempo, and industry partners Energy Systems Catapult and Baringa. The project aims to define real-world freight operator profiles and match them with tailored energy solutions, including flexible grid connections, on-site battery storage, and smart, megawatt-scale charging strategies, to identify the most cost-efficient pathways to large-scale freight decarbonisation.
As part of the project, Maritime is providing operational insight from a freight operator perspective to help inform the development of representative fleet profiles. This input will be used to explore how different energy arrangements could be considered when planning for eHGVs, based on real operating conditions.
Future Fleet has entered the Alpha phase of the Strategic Innovation Fund, which focuses on proving concepts through small-scale testing, and validating key assumptions before moving to larger trials. Alongside Future Fleet, the SHARED (Smart Hydrogen and Resilient Energy Decarbonisation) project has also entered the Alpha phase, while Wayl-Ease and SNUG (Smarter Network Upgrades) have progressed to the Beta phase, where solutions are scaled up and demonstrated over a longer period.
Maritime’s involvement in Future Fleet builds on its wider decarbonisation activity, including participation in all three national projects under the Zero Emission HGV and Infrastructure Demonstrator (ZEHID) programme – funded by the Department for Transport and delivered in partnership with Innovate UK – helping to develop the data, insight, and infrastructure required to make large-scale electric road transport commercially viable across the UK.
Luca Grella, head of innovation at UK Power Networks, said: “We’re thrilled to see all these projects progress to their next phase. Each one pushes the boundaries of what’s possible in delivering a smarter, more resilient and low-carbon energy system. From AI-enabled, data-driven grid upgrades electrifying freight to new ways of unlocking flexibility in homes, these innovations will play a vital role in accelerating the UK’s journey to a low carbon future.”
Tom Williams, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Maritime Transport, said: “We’re delighted to be involved in the Future Fleet project. A lot of the discussion around eHGVs focuses on the trucks themselves, but for many operators, the bigger challenge is access to power and how quickly sites can be made ready. By contributing operational insight, we’re helping to highlight where the real constraints sit and what needs to change to encourage wider deployment.”
