As featured in Bus & Coach Buyer.

Zenobē, the EV fleet and battery storage specialist, today announces an extension of its working relationship with Newport Transport, installing 16 new charging points, made up of eight double-headed chargers, to provide further charging support to its fleet of 32 electric buses. This addition will allow the operator to have all its electric buses on the road at the same time, enable dynamic charging strategies and provide greater charging flexibility for future fleet expansion.

This builds on an established working relationship between Zenobē and Newport Transport, who initially began working together to bring Wales’s first ever fleet of electric buses into service in 2020. With the total number of electric buses in the fleet at 32 since June this year, but with no means to charge them all at the same time overnight, these further charging points mean all buses can now be on the road at the same time. The electric fleet now makes up 43 per cent of Newport Transport’s overall fleet, the largest ratio of electric to diesel buses in a fleet outside of London.

Zenobē has worked with Newport Transport to build the new charging infrastructure and has upgraded the grid connection at the depot to support the increased energy demand. It also provided financing for the infrastructure, the batteries on the Pelican Yutong vehicles, and any replacement batteries required in the life of the contract. Finally, it has implemented its end-to-end software solution to manage the fleet charging and optimise the resulting power requirements.

With air pollution levels in parts of Newport among the worst in the UK and greatly exceeding international targets1, this work is an important contribution to cleaning the city’s air and making it a safer place to live.

Steven Meersman, Co-founder and Director of Zenobē, said:

“Scott and the team at Newport Transport were the first to work with us on our battery-on-the-bus-as-a-service and charging service model, when we jointly expanded the impact of their successful grant from the UK government from two to seven vehicles with our then new funded service model. I am delighted to see that intent of partnership expand to a fleet that is over 40 per cent electric, with plans to extend this further – a milestone and an example.”

Scott Pearson, Managing Director at Newport Transport, said:

“I’m so pleased that this partnership has allowed us to act on our commitment to the environment and sustainable public transport for citizens. We are leading the way in Wales, with our EV fleet improving air quality and CO2 emissions across the city and surrounding areas. We at Newport Transport are excited for further collaboration with the team at Zenobē, as we work towards our vision of a net zero fleet in the near future”.

Notes to editors

For further information, please contact:

For Zenobē: zenobe@standagency.com | 07811 042863

About Zenobē Energy Ltd. (Zenobē):

Zenobē is an international EV fleet and battery storage specialist, headquartered in the UK with operations in Europe and Australasia. It has c.235 MW of contracted storage assets and 1.6GW in development in the UK which equates to c.25% market share forecast by 2026, around 25% market share of the UK EV bus sector and c.580 electric vehicles on the road globally. The company is the largest owner and operator of EV buses in the UK, Australia and New Zealand.

The company’s pioneering battery storage offering enables power grid operators to provide clean, secure and affordable power, accelerating the global transition to Net Zero energy systems. Zenobē’s fleet solution is driving the adoption of electric vehicles and reducing emissions from the transport and logistics sectors. Its ETaaS (Electric Transport-as-a-Service) solution provides fleet operators and local authorities with a full solution for a pay-per-month fee including charging infrastructure, battery replacement and award-winning software. Zenobē is also a leader in repurposing EV batteries after their first life, providing incremental power solutions to large businesses and the film and events industries.

For more information, please visit  www.zenobe.com

About Newport Transport Ltd:

Newport Transport, headquartered on Corporation Road, Newport, South Wales for over 100 years and operating as Newport Bus is the main bus operator in the City of Newport. Its network of over 40 services covers Newport and the South East Wales area and accommodates more than 7m passengers a year. With a turnover of nearly £11m, Newport Transport employs over 200 people. Newport Transport also offers daytrips, private hire, MOT and maintenance services for all vehicle types, fleet management, and driver training.

For more information visit www.newportbus.co.uk