Converter Coolvan has won more than £500,000 of UK Government funding to develop an electric temperature-controlled van.
The new zero-emission fridge van, designed for urban food deliveries, will be developed in partnership with scientists from the University of Warwick, control systems specialists from Siemens, and a leading refrigeration engineering company.
It is one of 62 projects to win a share of £20 million from a government-backed R&D competition.
The news follows the launch earlier this year of Coolvan’s fridge conversion of the Maxus eDeliver 3 (pictured).
Coolvan managing director Chris Warburton said: “The hospitality sector relies on daily deliveries of fresh, chilled and frozen food, but the days of the diesel delivery van could be numbered.
“As UK cities seek to build back better and more sustainably post-pandemic, many are accelerating plans to restrict access to traditional internal combustion engine vehicles – presenting a serious challenge to the logistics and delivery industry.
“We have been trialling electric vehicles and low emission refrigeration systems for several years now and have built a number of prototype vehicles.
“The combination of additional funding and the opportunity to work with highly skilled and experienced partners such as Siemens and the University of Warwick will accelerate the delivery of a viable zero-emissions refrigerated vehicle to operate safely in cities across the UK.”
