Cenex – the UK’s first Centre of Excellence for low carbon technologies – is pleased to announce the release of its new online tool: the Van Cost & Carbon Calculator, or VC³.

The VC³ computes the economic and environmental performance of diesel, electric, gas and stop-start van technologies. It enables fleet decision-makers to assess the feasibility of incorporating new low carbon vans into their fleets.

“By providing a realistic whole-life cost, the VC³ de-risks the implementation of low carbon fleet solutions,” said Steve Carroll, Technical Specialist at Cenex. “The tool is based on real-world driving cycles, meaning it predicts real-world fuel consumption. This level of accuracy is something you can’t get elsewhere,” he added.

The VC³ tool was developed by Cenex with funding from the Low Carbon Vehicle Partnership (LowCVP). It allows users to specify van size, driving habits, annual mileage, and ownership period, and then provides a cost and carbon emission comparison of the low carbon van options relative to a diesel van. Within the VC³ users will also find an introduction to the different low carbon van technologies, including the main operational considerations that may affect a vehicle’s suitability for the user’s operation.

Once users have identified the technologies that can offer lower costs and better environmental performance, the tool provides links to further information, allowing them to find out about vehicle and refuelling equipment availability.

“The VC³ is powered by the Cenex Fleet Carbon Reduction Tool, a vehicle performance simulation that allows the VC³ to provide accurate fuel consumption results from a range of user-defined driving habits,” noted Carroll. “It’s one of the few free-to-access, online tools for fleet decision-makers to calculate cost savings through carbon reduction.”

Notes to editors:

About Cenex

Cenex, the UK’s first Centre of Excellence for Low Carbon and Fuel Cell technologies, is a UK independent not-for-profit company. We have established our position as the leading independent experts in low carbon vehicles and fuels through delivering a range of research and demonstration trials.

By encouraging the early market adoption of low carbon and fuel cell technologies in automotive applications, Cenex aims to assist the UK automotive supply chain with competing in global markets, as well as showcase UK expertise to encourage inward investment.

To support its diverse customer base, Cenex has used its leading-edge low carbon vehicle expertise to develop a new approach to Fleet Carbon Reduction. This business support package uses our unique Fleet Carbon Reduction Tool (FCRT): a bespoke simulation tool that, backed by our real-world experience, can quantify the environmental and economic impact of deploying low carbon vehicles.

Cenex

Sue Glanville/Cate Bonthuys

Catalyst Communications

Tel: +44 (0)771 581 7589

sue@catalystcomms.co.uk / cate@catalystcomms.co.uk

Posted 18/06/2015