Software-as-a-service fleet management company GoMetro has been awarded a £147 000 grant from the UK Freight Innovation Fund to finance a six-month trial with UK logistics companies Maritime Transport and Welch’s Transport to implement GoMetro’s EV-FIT solution for electric vehicle (EV) fleet transformation and its Bridge fleet management software platform.

The grant is subsequent to the South Africa-founded, but London-headquartered GoMetro announcing its Series A funding of £9-million.

GoMetro will, along with its trial partners, collect and analyse fleet movement data for a chosen UK depot, from which the partners will identify critical vehicle- and infrastructure-specification needs, says GoMetro group CEO and founder Justin Coetzee.

“The grant is a validation for GoMetro in the UK freight market, and implementing our solution with major logistics players is an opportunity to demonstrate how our software platform can help fleet owners achieve better results,” he says.

“Trialling our solution with Maritime Transport and Welch’s Transport is aimed at addressing one of the UK’s biggest decarbonisation challenges. Data is fundamental to decarbonising UK road freight, and we have the tools to unlock key insights for the industry,” avers GoMetro EV-FIT project lead Christopher de Saxe.

The grant funding is the third tranche from the UK’s Freight Innovation Fund Accelerator Programme.

The programme is a £7-million government investment across three years to support the freight sector to deploy AI and automation to improve the way trains, lorries, vans and ships carry parcels and goods.

“Freight is a crucial engine of our economy and it is only right we do all we can to improve working conditions, pioneer innovation and drive sustainability across the industry,” says UK Future of Roads Minister Lilian Greenwood.

“Our funding, combined with investment from the industry, will ensure lorry drivers can enjoy safer parking, a proper rest and a warm meal, while supporting UK businesses to harvest the best of technology to move freight faster, decarbonise our supply chain, and grow the economy for all,” she says.

GoMetro EV-FIT is the company's feasibility and planning solution that is driven by its telematics aggregation platform Bridge.

Given the complexity of lorry operations and the upfront vehicle and infrastructure investments at stake, an effective EV transition plan must be customised to suit the unique operating characteristics of each fleet. Telematics data is the key to unlocking this, De Saxe says.

Telematics data provides insights into key operational metrics such as daily mileage and idle time at depots. These insights help to identify the required vehicle and charging infrastructure specifications such as battery capacities and the number, power and location of chargers, he explains.

“Bridge streamlines the data collection process by aggregating telematics data from a range of telemetry providers directly via application programming interfaces, including those from subcontracted fleets.

“With our trial partners Maritime Transport and Welch’s Transport, we will be collecting fleet movement data using Bridge alongside the collection of important contextual non-telematics information. The data will then be analysed to identify optimal routes, vehicles and charging infrastructure needed for a successful EV pilot within the fleet.

“The outputs will help accelerate our partners’ EV transition journeys and will in turn help to refine the EV-FIT offering to address the needs of UK fleets,” De Saxe says.