Sheffield City Council is trialling electric bin lorries powered by the waste they have collected, which they say is a ‘world-first’ for a local authority.
The project has taken four used refuse collection vehicles, which would have been destined for the scrap yard, and re-fitted them to be powered by battery, using a system that has been designed, manufactured and fitted in Sheffield by local firm Magtec.
The re-powered lorries will be powerful enough to negotiate Sheffield’s seven hills, even when full. The re-powered lorries have zero carbon emissions and have no tailpipe.
The two vehicles for the city will be powered by energy produced at the City’s Energy Recovery Facility at Bernard Road, generated by processing the city’s black bin waste into energy.
The project is part of a £2.6m national scheme to accelerate the transition to zero-emission heavy goods vehicles funded by Innovate UK.
Sheffield’s project is made up of six partners including Veolia which will be responsible for operating the vehicles in the city as part of its waste contract with Sheffield City Council.
Sheffield has been awarded £220,000 by Innovate for the battery packs for two Sheffield-based vehicles. The rest of the costs are met with funding from Innovate and from other partners.
The project will deliver two vehicles for Sheffield and two for Westminster Council, with both areas now having one vehicle in operation.
Cllr Mark Jones, Cabinet Member for Environment and Climate Change, said: ‘This is an amazing, innovative project that puts Sheffield and the region at the forefront of green technology.
‘Using local expertise, we are piloting a new repowered 26-tonne bin lorry which is powered by the electricity produced by the waste it collects. We believe we are the first Local Authority ever to do this, putting Sheffield at the forefront of the green energy revolution.
‘Our city is working hard to deliver clean air and green jobs. We are rightly proud of projects such as this alongside our own proposals for a clean air zone to cut nitrogen dioxide.
Photo Credit – Sheffield City Council