Equipmake secures £350,000 to develop electric fire engine
Norfolk-based EV firm Equipmake has secured a share of government funding to develop a new electric fire engine.
The specialist in electrically-powered commercial and heavy vehicles, which supplies electric buses to several major tour companies, will now work with partners including the London Fire Brigade to develop the vehicle over the next 12 months.
The £350,000 funding was awarded as part of £88 million of grants and investment from the government-backed Advanced Propulsion Centre (APC) to support the development of zero-emissions vehicles.
The joint venture, known as ZEPA (Zero Emission Pumping Appliance), is a collaboration between Equipmake, emergency vehicle manufacturer Emergency One, the London Fire Brigade and CENEX. The vehicle is due to be presented at next year’s CENEX Expo before undergoing extensive testing by the London Fire Brigade.
Ian Foley, CEO of Equipmake, said: “On behalf of the consortium, we are delighted that project ZEPA has been selected for crucial funding which will support the development of a much-needed fully electric specialist emergency vehicle.”
The group said that a key innovation for the new state-of-the-art vehicle will be a novel ‘daisy chain’ energy management system. This will enable firefighting with fully battery-electric fire engines – another step forward in supporting the London Fire Brigade in its transition to zero emissions. It is expected that this technology will have other applications in addition to fire trucks.
