Nottingham City Transport

Through a public procurement exercise, NCT selected Zenobē as its electrification partner. Zenobē completed Phase 1 in May 2024, with on-site infrastructure work finished on time and on budget. Zenobē’s key responsibilities included: completing final designs of the depot based on site visits and consultations with heritage experts and local teams; completing a peak power analysis and proposing a charging strategy based on available grid capacity; bringing power to site, including assessing options and supporting NCT’s decision-making on the best approach; installation and commissioning of infrastructure (plinths, transformers, LV panels, chargers, trenching, cabling, containment and ductwork, task lighting); and integration of the electric vehicles and infrastructure.

For the listed building, we consulted with a team of planning advisors to ensure the electrification design was in line with requirements, sympathetic to the style and architecture of the building, and would be approved by the local council.

For the weak roof structure in the north garage, we used our supply chain of structural engineers to produce feasibility studies followed by detailed construction designs during delivery – minimising construction risk and ensuring the project was delivered on time and within budget by avoiding unknowns existing prior to delivery.

In the north garage, we worked with the existing fabric of the building to make space for charging infrastructure, clearing four bricked-up arches to install chargers while maximising the space available. We consulted with NCT and designed all equipment, including private substations and LV panels, to be expandable to eventually meet the full depot’s electrification needs once Phase 2 is complete.

To reduce the cost of the two 1,800kVA grid connections, we negotiated and procured the contestable element of the grid connection works ourselves, obtaining prices from a range of Independent Connection Providers (ICPs) and asset values from a range of independent Distribution Network Operators (iDNOs) to significantly lower costs for NCT.

Similar to our approach with Oxford Bus Company at their Cowley Depot and at National Express’s Coventry depot, we phased the construction, in consultation with the operator, so that all services could continue running throughout the delivery programme. Given the impact of shutting down parts of the depot on day-to-day operations and health and safety risks, we collaborated closely with the local team to mitigate any problems and communicate changes. All onsite works were completed on time.

During the build, NCT requested the addition of specific fire suppression hardware to be retrofitted onto the chargers installed on-site as an extra layer of safety. We worked with NCT on procuring this equipment and project managed the retrofitting of these chargers while ensuring warranties were not compromised.

Charger leads are expensive to replace, so we worked with the customer to review several lead protection options to minimise ongoing costs. The final design includes a charger cable ‘basket’ that reduces the risk of trailing leads in the depot, which can easily be run over and damaged. Our smart charging and load management system has also been installed at the site to optimise vehicle charging windows in the most cost-effective and operationally efficient manner.