ABM Q4 - Flipbook - Page 84
Interview
Coolkit
Dylan Robertson speaks to Rupert Gatty, founder
and CEO at CoolKit, about electrifying specialist
vehicles, OEM integrations and Euro 7
s the process of light
commercial vehicle (LCV)
fleet electrification drags
on, the quick wins and
easy targets begin to pass
by. While challenges such
as upfront cost, residual
values and charging
remain, the advantages
have long been clear for fleets with
low daily mileages, light payloads and
predictable operations.
For the industry to meet the ambitious
targets set by the Government, the
operators of more specialised vehicles
must now come into the crosshairs.
To hear more about the challenges of
electrifying specialist LCVs, especially
refrigerated ones, Automotive Business
Magazine sat down with Rupert Gatty,
founder and CEO at temperaturecontrolled van specialist CoolKit.
A
helped, refrigeration systems can eat
up a good chunk of that additional
allowance. This led CoolKit to adopt
creative solutions, to ensure it is giving
customers the most capability possible.
Gatty continues: “You can regain a lot
of the lost weight. We may be able to
discard a steel bulkhead, which might
save 25kg. We use our own bulkhead,
which we've crash tested. We may be
able to discard the spare wheel, which is
another 25kg, and perhaps replace that
with a tyre inflation kit.”
What operators do not always realise
is that seemingly unrelated decisions,
such as exterior paint, can also have an
impact on efficiency. CoolKit is working
on techniques to reduce the impact of
this, but it is a simple fact that a black
van absorbs much more heat than a
white one, requiring more energy to be
consumed by refrigerant systems.
Engineering challenges
Efficiency is the name of the game
when it comes to electric vehicles (EVs).
It is the reason why so many electric
crossovers look like toads, and why
long ranges often come with a payload
trade-off.
While operators of diesel vehicles
certainly value efficiency too, the impact
of a needing a charge midway through
the day is far greater than a few extra
pence at the pump.
Gatty explains that electric LCVs
require fundamentally more efficient
refrigeration systems: “It's about trying
to minimise the energy that you need for
the cooling operation.
"You generally do that by affording
as much protection as you can to the
interior from the world outside. That
means insulating it effectively, and it
means ensuring that there's no gaps in
any of the door closures.”
Weight has a huge impact, too. While
the 4.25-tonne derogation has certainly
EVs are ready now, for some
These challenges are just that:
challenges. They are not impossible
hurdles to overcome, and do not mean
diesel or death for refrigerated fleets.
In fact, the impact on range is much
smaller than would be expected, and
many fleets may find their operations
to be a better fit than first thought.
However, limitations beyond those of the
vehicles themselves remain.
Gatty explains: “A while ago on the
GreenFleet EV Rally, when we entered
the refrigerated van for the first time,
we found that the range implication was
minimal. Maybe 10 to 15 miles difference.
In conjunction with modern route
planning devices, we’re getting close.
“Some of the real practical problems
were actually fitting large vans into a car
charging bay.
"It might be designed for a car that's
four or five metres long at the most, but
you get a Sprinter, a long wheelbase van,
it's seven metres or more.
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AUTOMOTIVE BUSINESS
Q2
Q4 2026
