TUAL, leading innovator in electric commercial-vehicle charging solutions, today announces the opening of its new commercial headquarters at Bicester Motion in its Heritage area in Oxfordshire, UK – launching the latest stage in TUAL’s expansion and underlining the growth of the thriving Bicester mobility ecosystem.
Image: TUAL
Complementing the business’ technical development & engineering centre and planned assembly line in Glasgow, UK, the new Bicester Motion unit reinforces TUAL’s operational infrastructure as it continues to advance its scale-up phase. TUAL’s arrival at the site blazes a new trail for the innovative campus, marking the first high-performance battery specialist – and business dedicated to commercial vehicles and enterprise fleets – to establish a presence there.
Part of the wider Bicester Motion development dedicated to advancing the past, present and future of mobility, the Heritage area represents a unique ecosystem of businesses – promoting skills and expertise, employment, qualified customer footfall, shared business incubation and aggregate growth.
The new TUAL commercial site forms part of The Station Armoury. Here, the business joins a host of innovators and pioneers in the sustainable mobility space – from electric vehicle (EV) brand Polestar and NEOM McLaren Formula E Team, to urban electric two-wheeler manufacturer Zapp and synthetic fuel developer Zero Petroleum.
Located in one of the UK’s leading regions for scientific and technological innovation, Bicester Motion presents a central location for business and product development, reinforced by robust static- and live-drive environments for showcasing and testing TUAL’s ground-breaking technology.
Philip Clarke, CEO and Founder of TUAL: “Bicester Motion provides TUAL with an industry-leading launchpad for accelerating the development of our unique, cutting-edge electric commercial-vehicle charging solutions. From world-class engineering expertise, to a host of on-site specialist partners, proximity to the Advanced Propulsion Centre team, and its inspiring entrepreneurial culture, Bicester Motion is a natural location for us to propel our business forward.
“The industry needs to seize the opportunity to electrify commercial vehicles. We intend to scale our commercial operations at Bicester, in parallel with the expansion of technical operations in Scotland, to help businesses make a success of the electric commercial-vehicle transition – now and in the future.”
Image: TUAL
Daniel Geoghegan, chief executive, Bicester Motion added: “We warmly welcome TUAL to our thriving future mobility community. Their innovative technology has the capability of transforming commercial vehicle EV infrastructure. We look forward to seeing their growth continue to accelerate in their new home.”
There is an urgent need for enterprise fleets and OEMs to adopt eLCVs, with lucrative fleet contracts demanding the integration of zero-emission vans and regulatory pressures requiring vehicle-manufacturers to deliver them.
Fleet-operator needs are currently not served by eLCV offerings on the market, with driving-range and vehicle-charging challenges creating a significant cost-burden on businesses. With 40% of van use-cases exceeding real-world eLCV range, and 70% of van drivers unable to charge at home or depot, lost productivity from charging downtime can cost fleets up to £150,000 per driver or vehicle over a five-year period.
Developed from the ground-up for maximum flexibility, TUAL’s highly modular powerbank solutions have been optimised to help enterprise fleets overcome grid and vehicle constraints. The only on-demand battery system that’s scalable across OEMs, TUAL powerbanks are fully compatible with vehicle manufacturers’ existing platforms – with seamless installation facilitated by integration kits offered with each solution.
