How a former Dundee petrol station became one of Europe’s most innovative EV charging hubs

By Fraser Crichton, corporate fleet manager at Dundee City Council

At Dundee City Council, we are proud to say that we set the benchmark for sustainable city infrastructure. Known as a leading EV city, Dundee already has developed a comprehensive infrastructure that encompasses everything from electric taxis and bin lorries to charging hubs and on-street ‘pop-up’ charge points.

There are currently over 400 charge points across Dundee, 215 of which are council-owned. These charge points facilitate an average of 488 charging sessions per day. Our council-owned fleet boasts over 200 electric vehicles, and is estimated to have saved 419.91 kg of CO2 in 2023 alone.

One of the most recent additions to the city’s EV infrastructure is the Clepington Road charging hub, Dundee’s fourth charging hub. On the site of a former petrol station, the council has worked closely with partners including SWARCO, Bluewater, Connected Energy and Envevo to create a hub that has the capacity to support 65 public and council-owned electric vehicles.

The Clepington Road charging hub epitomises the sustainable transition from fossil fuels to the future of renewable energy. So, what makes Clepington Road more than just an EV charging station?

‘World-first’ rainwater harvesting technology

The canopy roof of the Clepington Road hub is fitted with Bluewater’s state-of-the-art water filtration system that captures rainwater and filters it into a purifying machine, powered using energy from the solar panels.

EV drivers can fill up their water bottles with clean drinking water for free while charging, avoiding the single-use plastics that are typically associated with petrol stations. Our end goal is for all our charging hubs to be fitted with these purifying machines, eventually resulting in clean water every 1⁄2 km for city residents and visitors.

Second-life battery storage units

The solar canopies connect with two second-life battery storage units. The battery units house batteries from old electric vehicles that can no longer reach full charge.

Each unit is capable of storing 100MWh of electricity each year – enough energy to power 5,000 charging sessions (based on a 20kWh average consumption per session).

The systems are used to capture any excess solar as well as charging from the grid at off-peak times when tariffs are cheaper and electricity is less carbon-intensive.

This helps us reduce both the cost and the environmental impact of EV charging.

Setting a new standard for EV charging accessibility

In order to deliver equitable access to EV charging infrastructure, we wanted to ensure that all our EV charge points are designed to be as accessible as possible. While being guided by the standard of BSI PAS 1899:2022, the design process of the Clepington Road hub was in conjunction with disabled drivers themselves, ensuring that accessibility was considered at every stage.

Other EV innovations in Dundee

After a successful pilot programme alongside Urban Fox, Dundee is now rolling the charge point operator’s app-controlled pop-up chargers out across the city. Exclusive to Dundee, these MK5 UEone charge points are both flush-fitting and PAS 1899:2022 compliant – the first of their kind in the world. When not in use, the chargers auto-retract and sit flush with the ground, minimising their impact on Dundee’s streets.

Three tips for success

Dundee’s EV journey has been a huge learning curve for everyone involved. Some of the most important advice that I could offer to other Fleet Managers includes:

1. Communication with the public is key – Educating the public about your plans is really vital to long term success. I’ve come to realise that our projects sometimes face opposition, and it’s my responsibility to ensure the public’s concerns are heard and addressed. Every person in the city should be involved in such a large-scale transition.
2. Success is about the team you have around you – When you’re tackling big changes, it’s much easier to push forward if you’ve got a supportive and energetic team around you. Creating a dynamic where everyone feels they’re part of something important goes a long way to achieving those tough goals.
3. Stay open minded and be ready to make mistakes – It’s important to remain open-minded regarding future innovation requirements. You need to understand that you are going to make mistakes, but the lessons that you learn from these mistakes are what’s ultimately going to lead you to success in the long term.