White van turns green

New high performance, zero emission vehicle launched

A van that will revolutionise urban delivery has been launched today, Thursday 20 April 2006 at Wellington Arch in London.

The Modec van produces no carbon dioxide or other pollutants and is powered using modern battery technology. On a single charge it can cover over 100 miles and reach a top speed of 50 mph carrying a load of up to two tonnes. It is the first zero emission van that is comparable in economy and performance to diesel equivalents making it a real and viable urban delivery vehicle.

The van has been designed with large fleets in mind and talks are currently underway with a number of organisations including Ocado. It is also easy to operate and maintain with only three moving parts in the electric motor instead of the usual 300 in the average diesel van engine.

The battery can be recharged at the fleet depots and allow for efficient and effective city delivery without the noise, smell or pollution traditionally associated with transit vans. The Modec van also facilitates the move towards reducing CO2 emissions, by enabling operators to source their energy (electricity) from renewable sources.

Jamie Borwick, Chairman of Modec said: "The Modec van is the first of its kind. It is comparable to other vans currently on the market but supersedes them all by producing no CO2 emissions. It also is 100% clean in terms of local air quality and is virtually silent, spelling the end to noisy night deliveries in urban areas. Road tax is free and it is also exempt from the London Congestion Charge.

With carbon emissions and climate change being a topic of growing concern we are confident that the Modec van will soon be the van of choice for large fleet operators who are conscious of the cost savings as well as the savings to the environment that using the Modec van will deliver."

The Modec van comes at the time many Whitehall departments have failed to meet the government's target for switching to greener vehicles. This month the government has also admitted that it had missed its key target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the manifesto commitment of reducing carbon emissions by 20% by 2010 will not be possible.

Professor Malcolm Green, British Lung Foundation spokesperson said:"Any vehicle which cuts down on harmful emissions is good news for all people in the UK who are exposed to car fumes, especially the one in seven who are affected by lung disease. People who already have a lung disease, the elderly who are more likely to suffer from diseases of the heart and lungs, and children are especially susceptible to the effects of vehicle pollution particularly the smallest particles derived from exhaust fumes."

Other advantages of the Modec van to operators include zero road tax, zero operator license and zero congestion charge. Currently 50,000 vans of a similar size enter the congestion charge zone every day and travel approximately 260,000 miles in total within the zone. Using a Modec van would represent considerable savings for fleets that operate within the area as well as positively impacting on the local air quality. In addition by producing no emissions the Modec van will meet the criteria for the Low Emission Zone due to be operational in London in 2008.

The team behind the Modec van was also responsible for developing the iconic London taxi, the TX1 which was launched in 1997 and which changed the look of the traditional black London cab.

The Modec van will be launched to the commercial market at the Commercial Vehicle Show in Birmingham on Tuesday 25 April 2006.

For further information please contact:

Catherine Hutt at chutt@modec.co.uk or on 07894 683366

Notes for editors

The Team

The Modec van started life as the LTI Electric Mercury. Jamie Borwick, former Chairman of Manganese Bronze, purchased the e-Mercury project from LTI (part of Manganese Bronze) during 2005.

Many of the Modec team, including Jamie (Chairman and owner), Jevon Thorpe (CEO), Colin Smith (Engineering Director), David Godfrey (Technical Director), Bill Gillespie and Trevor Power (non exec directors) were part of the team at LTI who were responsible for developing the iconic TX1 taxi.

Speed

Department for Transport statistics show that transit vans do on average 30mph in 30mph zones and 36mph in 40mph zones across all urban areas in the country. Within more congested areas, such as London, average traffic speeds vary from 10 to 15mph through the day.

The top speed of the Modec van is therefore limited to 50mph, a safe and appropriate speed for driving in urban environments competitive with any comparable LGV. The Modec has a 70Kw motor (102 Horse Power) that delivers 300Nm of torque and the Modec van therefore has no difficulty accelerating from stationary.

Distance

Department for Transport statistics show that vans travel an average of 25,000 km per year (15,535 miles). Given an average of 250 working days per year, this equates to 100Km (62 miles) per day.

The Modec van is able to deliver a typical driving range of 100 miles, driven like a conventional LCV (Light Goods Vehicle), with a partial load. Driven gently unladen it is capable of a greater range, fully loaded and driven hard would reduce the range slightly.

Battery

The battery has an average life span of around four years of heavy duty use (1000 full charging cycles). In comparison to hybrid vehicles in an urban environment the Modec van will be comparable on both whole life cost and performance compared to a conventional or hybrid LGV (there are no existing hybrid LGVs at present). No electric vehicle comes close to the speed or distance achievable in the Modec van.

In comparison hybrids typically have very limited battery (and hence zero emission) ranges and are capable of often only about a mile using the battery. They hence tend to displace pollution from the centre of congested areas and areas such as the congestion charge zone in London to the edge of these zones, limiting the environmental benefits. In addition to date it is not possible to buy a hybrid van of equivalent capacity to the Modec van.

Emissions

The Modec van produces no CO2 emissions if the electricity used to charge the van is obtained from renewable sources. If other sources are used then CO2 emissions from the electricity energy source will have to be taken into consideration.

The Modec van, using modern battery technology emits none of the main air pollutants traditional road vehicles produce. These include carbon monoxide (CO), oxides of nitrogen (NOx), hydrocarbons (HC - Benzene and other volatile organic compounds) and particulate matter (PM), which causes effects such as premature deaths and the exacerbation of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases including asthma.

Economy

The Modec van costs start from £23,000

On a pence per mile basis the Modec van is cheaper to run than a diesel equivalent.

British Lung Foundation

The British Lung Foundation is the only UK charity working for anyone affected by lung disease. The charity focuses its resources on providing support for people affected by lung disease today; and works in a variety of ways (including funding world-class research) to bring about positive change, to improve treatment, care and support for people affected by lung disease in the future. It provides information via the website www.lunguk.org and telephone helpline 08458 50 50 20.