Gloucester Cathedral has purchased its first all-electric utility truck as part of a drive to reduce its carbon footprint and improve sustainability.
The Friends of Gloucester Cathedral has funded the investment in an Alke ATX200E truck from ePower Trucks, the UK’s leading supplier of low-cost, road-legal electric vehicles. Fully battery-powered, the ATX200E is a lightweight, compact utility vehicle with a 530kg payload and can tow up to 2,000kg.
The vehicle’s batteries and efficient electric motor provide a range of 40 miles on a single charge. Powered by renewable energy, the 900 year-old Cathedral’s new truck creates zero CO2 emissions and no air pollution from its operations.
The ATX200E costs around 4p per mile in electricity to run. The simplicity of the electric motor means that maintenance requirements – and costs – are also a lot lower than on a diesel truck. As part of the handover, ePower Trucks conducted operator and technical training for five Cathedral employees. They will deploy the vehicle in a range of facilities maintenance applications in the Cathedral grounds.
www.gloucestercathedral.org.uk