Head of Electric Vehicles appointed at REA

• ·         REA appoints Matthew Trevaskis as new Head of EVs at a time where transport has become the largest source of UK CO₂ emissions,
• ·         The work of the EV Group will focus on charging infrastructure, government policy, and the use of EVs as a form of mass electricity storage,
• ·         Trevaskis has been a leading EV advocate since the early 2000’s.

Long-term EV advocate Matthew Trevaskis has been appointed Head of Electric Vehicles at the Renewable Energy Association.

Trevaskis’ new role at the REA is to champion the use of Ultra-Low Emission Vehicles, such as plug-in hybrids and fully electric vehicles, in the UK. He will be growing the REA’s EV offering, the work of which will focus on the integration of EVs into the electricity grid, the need for new infrastructure, government energy, transport, and planning policy, and the potential for EVs to act as a form of distributed storage.

Matthew’s experience in the electric vehicle arena stretches back to 1999 when he personally bought a road-registered electric Peugeot moped, unsure as to its viability but fascinated by the technology.

In 2005, he founded Ecodrive, first an EV fleet trialling company and now an independent transport consultancy.

The REA is anticipating increased Government focus on the decarbonisation of the transport sector. While power sector CO₂ emissions have fallen significantly, transport emissions have stalled and in both 2014 and 2015, increased. Transport is now the largest source of CO₂ emissions in the UK. The expanded use of EVs can reduce such emissions, while simultaneously addressing urban air quality challenges and creating opportunity for new domestic manufacturing and export.

The Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy select committee has recently launched a new inquiry into policy and infrastructure barriers to EV growth, Trevaskis will be leading the REA’s response. 

Matthew’s work complements the work of the Renewable Transport Fuels Group, which represents producers of renewable fuels such as bioethanol and biodiesel which are blended into the petrol and diesel mix. 

Further details about his work can be found on the REA blog here.

Commenting on the announcement, Matthew Trevaskis said:

"I'm very excited to be joining the REA at this time in the development of renewables and the challenges faced by the motor industry.  I see great opportunities in the convergence of renewable generation, on all scales, with the move towards greater numbers of plug-in vehicles, especially the longer-range yet affordable EVs now coming to market.  

“The motor industry needs to shift its drivetrains rapidly towards zero emission operation, especially where vehicles are used in our towns and cities that are suffering acute air quality issues.  

“Marrying the two together in an intelligent way will allow us to unlock greater renewable generation capacity with a massively distributed store for that energy, that is generally parked and therefore potentially available for a high proportion of the time.  Future developments towards grid supporting services, such as Vehicle-to-Grid energy export will further yield benefits, not burdens, and provide economic opportunities for businesses and homes whilst decarbonising transport.”

 —ENDS—

Notes to editors 

• ·         Matthew founded Ecodrive in 2005 with a fleet of 16 ex-Local Authority electric cars and vans, trialling them with fleets and end users both in his native Cornwall and London where the beginnings of charging infrastructure were taking shape.  Ecodrive morphed into a consultancy in 2010 when the modern EV market began to take off with vehicles such as Nissan LEAF and Mitsubishi i-MiEV hitting the roads and the UK Government forming the Office for Low Emission Vehicles to support the early uptake of EVs.  

• ·         Since 2010 he has worked with the public sector on projects such as a bid to OLEV for charging infrastructure and designing a project of 15 electric pool cars for the NHS, but he primarily works with vehicle brands such as Peugeot-Citroën, Renault, Kia and BMW to help specify vehicles for the UK and impart manufacturer and dealer staff with the passion and skills to educate the public about the benefits and practicalities of plug-in vehicles and, ultimately, accelerate the growth in the market.