A new shared depot charging model has gone live in the UK, aiming to remove key barriers to fleet electrification and speed up the transition to electric vehicles.
Voltempo has launched its DepotCharge solution with logistics firm Welch Group, allowing Openreach to access bookable, cost-competitive charging at shared depot sites.
The rollout marks the first live deployment of a system combining charging infrastructure, energy supply and payment services into a single platform, following Voltempo’s partnership with Corpay.
The model enables depot operators to open up spare charging capacity to third-party fleets, creating a new revenue stream while improving utilisation of existing infrastructure.
Welch Group, a haulage and logistics business based in the east of England, is using its depots to support both its own fleet and external users, including Openreach.
Openreach, which runs the UK’s second largest commercial fleet, now has nearly 7,000 electric vehicles in operation. The company said the new model helps address gaps where home charging is not possible.
Judy O’Keefe, director of fleet at Openreach, said: “Moving a fleet of our size to electric is a big job, and it only works if charging is simple, safe and reliable for our engineers.”
She added: “We know home charging isn’t an option for everyone… it helps us give our engineers reliable access to charging at home, on the road and at our sites.”
Under the system, drivers can access charging using existing EV charge cards, with payments handled through Corpay’s platform in a single billing arrangement.
Voltempo said the approach is designed to tackle three major challenges facing fleet electrification — infrastructure costs, energy complexity and cashflow uncertainty.
Chris Welch, managing director of Welch Group, said: “The biggest brake on fleet electrification isn't appetite… it's the trifecta of infrastructure cost, energy complexity and cashflow uncertainty that keeps stopping them.”
He added that the model allows operators to generate income from existing depot assets while supporting wider adoption of electric vehicles.
Simon Smith, chief executive of Voltempo, said: “This is a pivotal moment for the industry… we’ve moved from talking about the challenges of electrification to actively solving them at scale.”
The system also includes energy procurement designed to improve cost certainty and resilience, with access to renewable, traceable energy to support sustainability reporting.
The first deployment is expected to be followed by a wider rollout of shared charging sites across the UK, as the sector looks to accelerate the shift to zero-emission transport.