October 2023: As part of its continuing work on the FASTER Project, South West College has announced it is working with Cenex, the UK’s Centre of Excellence for Low Carbon and Fuel Cell technologies to provide local councils with access to Cenex’ proprietary National EV Insights and Support service (NEVIS) to assist with the development of their electrification and infrastructure strategies.

The FASTER Project has received €6.4 million EU funding under the INTERREG VA programme. The project is managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB) to support the transition to electric vehicles and sustainable transport use across Western Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland (Border Region). Match funding for the project has been provided by the Department for Infrastructure (Northern Ireland) and the Department for Transport (Republic of Ireland) and Transport Scotland.

In addition to making significant improvements to electric vehicle infrastructure across the three project areas, another of the key project deliverables is to provide knowledge and support for authorities tasked with delivering government mandates to increase the numbers of electric vehicles on roads across the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland.

The NEVIS service includes a selection of modules to supply reliable, independent up-to-date information about EVs and EV Infrastructure.  The Insights Toolkit provides localised quantitative data and modelling, while the OZEV-funded Knowledge Repository contains approved articles, guidance and videos which support local authorities on their journey to net zero, from developing a strategy through to procurement and deployment of chargepoints.

Participating councils will also gain access to a Networking Chanel where questions can be asked and answered with nearly 300 other officers.

The NEVIS service platform is a culmination of Cenex’s 15 year experience in supporting councils with electric vehicle rollout. It has been rolled out previously to councils across England and Wales, with over 300 organisations currently subscribed to the platform. This will be the first time that councils in Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland will be given access to the platform.

Andrew Benfield, Country Manager for Cenex said; “Cenex is excited to help FASTER to develop effective and consistent local EV charging strategies, using our extensive knowledge gained over the last 15 years.”

 Donal Monaghan, FASTER Project and Sustainability Marketing Officer at South West College said; “South West College is delighted to partner with Cenex on the roll out of the NEVIS platform to local authorities across Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and “West Coast of Scotland. Through the FASTER Project we have been working very closely with representatives from all those organisations and one of the major stumbling blocks to fleet electrification is the lack of council level strategies.”

NEVIS will provide councils will the knowledge and resources needed to develop future proof vehicle electrification and charging infrastructure plans and strategies. The outcomes of this partnership between Cenex and South West College will be an important legacy of the FASTER Project”

Eligible councils in the project regions will be invited to take part in virtual platform training over the coming weeks and it is expected that councils will begin using the NEVIS toolkit before the end of this year, with initial outputs expected in mid-2024.

Further information on the FASTER Project is available at www.fasterevcharge.com