Innovation to enable the move to electric vehicles

GUL-e by ODS No driveway? No problem

ODS embraces innovation both in the delivery of our work and in new areas of business. We strive to develop, evolve and push boundaries. This has led to the development of a home charging solution - a new invention that will revolutionise access to electric vehicles for everyone.

The Department for Transport estimates that 8 million households in the UK (approx. 30%) do not have access to off-street parking. Not only does that impact the uptake of Electric Vehicles (EVs), but owners in these households currently have to rely on, on-street public charging provisions or off-street public charging infrastructure if they wish to consider any electric vehicle such as a car, van or scooter.

ODS recognised the scale of the problem and believed a solution could be developed to address this issue. Our Engineering and Highways team got to work to provide a solution with their knowledge and skill set, and from there a project group was formed to bring Gul-e to the market. Funded through the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV) and Innovate UK under the competition: Infrastructure Solutions for Zero Emission Vehicles.

The Gul-e project provides ease of access for households charging their electric vehicles at home. It removes the hazard of cables running over pavements and the inconvenience of public charging facilities; essentially breaking down the barriers that people face in charging their EVs at home, which is significantly cheaper.

The principle is based on an established concept of the drainage channel following the British Standard for drainage channels on the highway, creating a secure and seamless cable gully recessed in the footway.

The ODS team with their project partners have developed a safe, efficient, and compliant solution that meets all local Highways requirements. Adhering to our values we place paramount importance on Health and Safety to develop this solution, using our experience and expertise as a purposeful, multi-skilled business.

We conducted robust testing in laboratory conditions and in live environments and are confident of the quality of our home charging solution to safety and efficiently charge from domestic homes energy supplys. We have been using this solution to support the charging of our extensive EV fleet of cars and vans across ODS.

The Gul-e has also been featured on Channel 5’s documentary “Should I Buy an Electric Car?”

Further trials of the Gul-e in Central Bedfordshire are now fully underway and we expect more trials to start in another three counties, including Durham and Bromley during the early part of 2023.

Feedback

Here is what some of our trial participants said:

“The Gul-e works brilliantly… There’s no reason why every house in the street shouldn’t have one.” – Guy H

“My cable runs cleanly down the Gul-e and then it runs down the footpath. In terms of the footpath, it’s 100 per cent clear – there’s no way anyone could trip over it.” – Mr. Hargreaves

100% of user reports stated the cable was easily inserted and removed from the Gul-e.

We are very proud to be able to provide a safe solution for the local authorities and residents of Oxford. We are also keen to support other Local Authorities who would like to trial the Gul-e solution in their area.

Taking our Gul-e national across the UK.

www.gul-e.co.uk