Midlands Connect is a partnership of councils, LEPs and chambers of commerce, funded by Government to develop the outcomes of its Transport Strategy for the Midlands (published March 2017). The purpose of the Strategy is to boost economic growth and contribute to the delivery of the Midlands Engine vision.

Midlands Connect commissioned this work to investigate the use of alternative fuels for freight and logistics to develop a regional action plan that will ensure government’s strategic polices are being consistently delivered across the region and also work towards the nationally set goals. It needed to understand how it can create the right conditions regionally, balancing the effective distribution of freight and logistics with the environment.

This will help Midlands Connect take a strategic view on the use of alternative fuels. In a scenario where the future needs for freight and logistics are not managed efficiently, business will be stifled, construction would slow, air quality would worsen and the cost of congestion and damage to infrastructure would be unsustainable.

Cenex undertook the following:

• Baseline assessment of freight and logistics vehicles currently operating in the Midlands, and availability of recharging and refuelling infrastructure.
• Forecasting future trends for vehicle uptake across different vehicle types, duty cycles, fuels and technologies
• Forecasting recharging and refuelling infrastructure requirements across the region for freight.
• Identifying region-specific challenges and opportunities to develop a vision for the Midlands to help them benefit from the transition to alternative fuels for freight.

We then worked with Atkins to develop a prioritised action plan for Midlands Connect.