The industry relies heavily on transporting linen and laundry across sites. How a business approaches this plays a key role in achieving emissions and sustainability targets. Janice Raycroft takes a look at some of the ways the industry is powering forward on the greener decisions they make when it comes to fleet management, vehicle choices and journey planning.

Electric Avenue

More than the financial numbers add up for laundries and their suppliers leading the way as green technology helps to drive their businesses in more ways than one. For instance, working practices – with less stress – can change as well. A good example is provided by Christeyns, where they’ve been encouraging drivers to switch to hybrid or EV vehicles for the past three years.

The overall aim is to reduce operational carbon emissions from transportation. With a field-based team of some 30 colleagues, the fleet is small, but the time on the road and miles driven is not insignificant when considering impact.

Whilst most Christeyns drivers have opted for the hybrid route, those that have gone full EV have no complaints. Justin Kerslake, operations director and himself an EV user, says “With a typical range over 200 miles all our EV drivers find the need to stop and recharge is infrequent, but also good practice on a three-hour plus journey. “To be honest a slightly longer stop time allows us to really take a rest from driving and to catch up on emails. This means less time at home or later in a hotel on the laptop, and less of a feeling of anxiety about being offline.”

The experience at Christeyns is that access to chargers is now far less of a problem as investment in the charging infrastructure has caught up with driver needs and various apps are available to suggest the best place to charge. They’ve discovered that locations like farm shops, shopping centres and garden centres have great charging points and often better facilities and food than standard service areas. The business has also installed chargers at key company sites and provided a scheme where employees can have a loan to install a charger at home. And they’ve flexed existing company car bandings to equalise the increased cost of an EV – so a like for like choice of fossil fuel to EV can be made.

Their drivers are reimbursed at HMRC rates, which the company appreciates can be a financial challenge when charging excessively on the network. Christeyns helps drivers in their initial choice with a calculator model to explore the cost of using a mix of charging at home, the office, customer premises and on the network so a comparison of EV running cost versus petrol can be made before opting for an EV.

At Ecolab around two thirds of their electricity usage last year was renewable, and vehicle usage has a big part to play in that as the business has a global target of all their fleet to be electric by 2030. They have some 26,000 sales and service associates driving to customer locations every day and are transitioning the company-owned fleet to electric vehicles. Efforts to electrify their fleet in Europe are well under way, particularly in the UK and Nordic countries. So far, more than one third of Ecolab’s UK passenger car fleet is already electric. They started actively working on the car selector process in 2022 and since January this year Ecolab UK associates who order or renew a company car are only offered electric vehicles.

At the same time Ecolab invests in the provision of home chargers and has been introducing EV charging points in some of its UK locations, available to both associates and customers. EV ‘Arrive & Drive’ days are held to raise awareness amongst company car drivers of the benefits of electric vehicles and feedback from those who’ve made the switch is very positive. Laundry equipment manufacturer Girbau UK has invested in three new electric vans as part of its nationwide fleet of mobile installation and maintenance engineers. The medium-sized Volkswagen’s ID.Buzz Cargo vans offer a good electric range of up to 256 miles and have sufficient storage space for engineers to carry an extensive range of spare parts for first time fixes. As Girbau engineers can easily cover high daily mileage, the fact that the ID. Buzz has a longer range and faster charging than most vans in its sector was a big plus point for the company. “As a service operation it is obviously critical that our engineers can reach customers in a timely manner,” says Jeremy Paul, head of commercial sales at Girbau UK. “Before making the decision to add these electric vans to our fleet, we looked carefully at where they would work best. We have also invested in charging infrastructure for both our Hitchin offices and for where the vehicles are parked overnight.”

Vision Linens believe they are already miles into their emissions reduction journey. Dan Lee, their group finance director, says that moving to electric vehicles was a ‘no-brainer’: “We began investing in electric vehicles back in 2019 as part of our sustainability plan. Currently, our whole car fleet is made up of electric vehicles and our team are advocates for the electric option. “The biggest advantage of having an electric company fleet at Vision is the environmental benefits of zero exhaust emissions. A reduction in air pollution and associated health problems and costs is a contribution not only to our net zero targets, but also to the health of the planet and our worldwide community.” As finance director he was not surprised by increased upfront leasing costs, but this has been quickly offset by the drastic reduction in Vision’s fuel costs. Lee, who drives an EV, says: “Coupled with tax benefits we have seen a positive financial impact despite the initial investment. Our company car users also love the financial benefits! Tax is significantly lower than traditional internal combustion engine cars and running costs around 40 per cent less than with petrol or diesel for a similar sized vehicle.”

Vision has also invested in onsite chargers at their head office in Blackburn and has been evaluating its delivery options. Working with DPD and their use of all-electric vehicles they have managed to save over Feb/March/April 1003kg of CO2, the equivalent of 7,169,406 km. But it’s not just the environmental issues where technology is helping to change how laundries and suppliers operate. In our June issue we told how Royal Jersey Laundry has introduced a new tracking feature of HID’s linen management platform at each of its five-star hotel customer sites to guarantee drivers drop off and collect precise linen stock and that costly errors are avoided. This has replaced a paper-based system used for the management of cages filled with clean/ soiled linen delivered/collected at customer sites. The laundry’s fleet of lorries and electric vans nip in and out of London three times day picking up and delivering thousands of linen pieces and garments for hotels.

Hydrogen Way

In the world of big trucks, the race is truly on to grab a lucrative share of what is set to be a rapidly expanding market when it comes to hydrogen-powered vehicles. By the end of this year there will be perhaps 25,000 such vehicles running with hydrogen internal combustion engine (H2- ICE) powertrain systems across the planet, but this is expected to grow to more than 350,000 over the next decade.

What’s fuelling all this?

Zero-emission hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicles have a higher driving range than their electrical equivalent and offer reduced fuel consumption. Add in political pressure and increasing advances in the technology and it’s a worldwide phenomenon. Among those at the cutting edge of all this are BMW, Toyota, Volvo, Daimler, Scania and Hyundai, with many launches planned for 2026. China, already taking something of a lead in the use of hydrogen-powered trucks, is being challenged by the US, where there’s an initiative to establish hydrogen refuelling stations nationwide alongside portable hydrogen ‘hubs’. It’s expected to be the fastest growing market for such pick-ups and trucks.

In California, Hyundai have just teamed up with public and private partners to deploy 30 Class 8 XCIENT Fuel Cell, hydrogen-powered trucks to haul freight containers and vehicles, stating that it sees hydrogen as the clean energy solution for commercial vehicles.

Meanwhile Volvo announced at the end of May that it’s developing trucks which run on green hydrogen, with a commercial launch planned towards the end of this decade. From 2026 they will begin customer tests. They expect them to be a popular choice where longer distances are required with limited charging infrastructure, or time for recharging of batteries. The vehicles will be offered alongside Volvo’s battery electric trucks, fuel cell electric trucks and those that run on renewable fuels, like biogas and HVO (hydrotreated vegetable oil).

Jan Hjelmgren of Volvo Trucks says: “Trucks where the traditional internal combustion engine remains but runs on hydrogen will have the same performance and reliability as our diesel trucks, but with the added benefit of potentially net zero CO2 emissions well-to-wheel. They will be a valuable complement to our battery electric trucks.

“It’s clear that several kinds of technology are needed to decarbonise heavy transport. As a global truck manufacturer, we need to support our customers by offering a variety of decarbonisation solutions, and customers can choose their alternative based on transport assignment, available infrastructure, and green energy prices.”

At the start of this year Bosch revealed plans to launch a hydrogen internal combustion engine for heavy commercial vehicles (HCVs). Similarly, Volvo announced its initiatives in January 2024 to develop H2-ICE engines as a viable alternative to FCEVs, aligning with its hydrogen-oriented initiatives.

Fleet Street

Just over half of British van drivers believe that electric vans (EVs) are now more cost effective to run than a petrol or diesel alternative, according to a recent study by Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles UK.

More than two-thirds of those questioned said that EVs would suit their business needs and day-to-day work, which the manufacturer sees as a tipping point, with nearly a third of respondents citing the ULEZ expansion as the reason they intend to switch. The ULEZ scrappage scheme provides financial assistance of up to £9,500 to eligible enterprises that have vehicles registered in London, to replace their internal combustion engine van with a fully electric model. Almost three quarters of van drivers said that reliability was no longer a reason not to buy an electric vehicle, while charging time remains the number one concern around purchasing an electric van.

Craig Cavanagh, national fleet manager at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, says: “There’s no doubt that UK businesses are seriously considering when and how to make the switch to EVs. Van drivers are recognising the benefits, not only from a sustainability point of view, but also from the perspective of being more cost effective than petrol and diesel models. This is particularly true for those located in or around London, following the growth of the ULEZ zone.”

Their first factory built, all electric van – the Volkswagen ID. Buzz Cargo – is offered in two trim levels, Commerce and Commerce Plus, with advanced connectivity, and driver assistance systems. Both trims are fitted with a 77kWh (net capacity) lithium-ion battery and electric motor, producing a power output of 204PS and delivering an all-electric range of up to 254 miles. EV charging software company Rightcharge has joined forces with Mercedes-Benz Vans in the UK to help make it more affordable and accessible for businesses looking to operate and charge electric vehicles.

Rightcharge provides electric van drivers with a comprehensive end-to-end solution for charge point installations, ensuring a hassle-free experience from start to finish. Drivers can choose from a selection of charge points, access market-leading prices from a network of vetted and monitored installers. Buyers of electric vehicles can benefit from contributions towards the costs of a home or workplace charge point and the installations and current offers include £1,000 for customers purchasing a Mercedes-Benz eCitan via an authorised Mercedes-Benz Van dealer.

Mercedes-Benz will introduce new large and midsize vans this year, while Rightcharge is set to launch its own electric fuel card and fleet management solution. Stellantis is currently the only OEM (original equipment manufacturer) producing vans in volume in the UK. The manufacturing group produces the Citroën E-Berlingo, Vauxhall Combo Electric, Peugeot E-Partner and Fiat E-Doblo at its Ellesmere Port plant, the UK’s first EV-only volume manufacturing facility. In the first half of next year Stellantis will begin limited production of electric vans at its Luton plant, alongside continued production of ICE vans.

It’s just been named Van Manufacturer of the Year at the Great British Fleet Awards 2024, the award coming shortly after Stellantis revealed its newly-upgraded LCV line-up. Citroën, Peugeot, FIAT Professional and Vauxhall have all updated their small, medium and large vans.

John Kendall, editor at Van Fleet World, says: “Merging two vehicle brands is enough of a challenge, but trying to bring five together, while striking a deal to supply vans to another, certainly isn’t for the faint-hearted. In the past year, Stellantis has revised the van ranges for Citroën, Fiat, Peugeot, Vauxhall and Opel. Each model has received a facelift and the range has been extended for all electric models.

“All new vans are now equipped for connectivity from the factory. The largest electric vans now all get the same motor and battery, while there are new transmissions for diesel models. At the same time, Stellantis has formed a new business unit, Pro One to handle LCV sales for all brands. It’s been quite a year.” Stellantis accounts for nearly one-in-three vans sold in the UK so far this year, leading the market in electric van sales, with a share of just under 45 per cent year-to-date. As of March, Peugeot took the crown for the best-selling electric van brand in the UK, with the E-Expert being the UK’s most popular electric van year-to-date.

The Luton plant will produce the fully electric Vauxhall Vivaro Electric, Opel Vivaro Electric, Peugeot E-Expert, Citroën ë-Dispatch and Fiat Professional E-Scudo mostly in right-hand drive, but also left-hand models for export.

Maria Grazia Davino, group managing director, Stellantis UK, has urged the UK government to stimulate more demand in the electric vehicle market and support manufacturers that invest in the UK for a sustainable transition.

Among the first electric vehicles to be produced at Luton, the new Vauxhall Vivaro Electric is powered by a 75kWh battery paired with a 100kW (136PS) electric motor. It is capable of up to 217 miles of range (WLTP), while a 5-80 per cent charge can be completed in just 45 minutes from a 100kW rapid charger.

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