For cold-chain operators, the challenge is even greater, because electrifying refrigerated transport does not simply replace diesel vehicles with electric ones. It fundamentally changes how energy is consumed across an entire operation. Electric fleets bring significant new demand onto the grid. Add temperature controlled refrigeration into the mix and the complexity increases again.
Vehicles need charging and trailers need cooling. Depots must manage both simultaneously, often during already constrained periods on the network. This is quickly turning logistics hubs into some of the most energy-intensive sites in the supply chain, and while the transition brings opportunity, it also introduces a new commercial reality.
Peak demand charges can rise sharply. Connection upgrades can become expensive and slow. Poorly optimised charging strategies risk eroding the very savings electrification is supposed to deliver. For many operators, the challenge is no longer whether to electrify. It is how to do so economically.
This is where flexibility starts to matter.
Research across the UK cold-chain sector is increasingly pointing towards a new model for fleet depots, one where charging, refrigeration, onsite generation and battery storage work together as part of an integrated energy system. The Cold Chain Federation, Innovate UK and other organisations have all highlighted the importance of smarter energy management in enabling large scale fleet electrification.
Because while EV fleets increase electricity demand, they also create controllable flexibility, and at Flexitricity we know that controllable flexibility has value.
FlexGO by Flexitricity is a new product that integrates into existing site controls, seamlessly bringing access to flexible services in existing operations.
With FlexGO, charging can be shifted away from peak pricing periods, not just to reduce costs but to earn revenues from wholesale market trading, or refrigeration loads can earn revenue by responding dynamically to network conditions.
Battery storage and onsite renewables can help smooth demand and reduce exposure to costly imports, while FlexGO further optimises the load profile in the background to ensure operations continue to be the priority whilst capturing all available revenue potential.
For refrigerated fleets in particular, thermal inertia creates additional opportunities. Much like cold stores, refrigerated assets can maintain temperature safely while energy consumption is optimised. That flexibility is what FlexGO has been created to capture. Ad-hoc availability that can support the wider electricity system while improving operational economics for fleet operators themselves.
Flexibility is becoming increasingly important as more renewable generation connects to the grid; clean power does not always arrive when demand is highest. Flexibility helps bridge that gap.
Expanding clean power, storage and flexibility is Britain's clearest route towards insulating itself from future energy shocks (1). For fleet operators, this reinforces the importance of managing energy demand intelligently as electrification accelerates.
The businesses that can intelligently manage when they consume energy will be better positioned to reduce costs, improve resilience and unlock additional revenue streams.
And this is not theoretical. Across the UK, operators are already trialling electric transport refrigeration units, smart charging infrastructure and integrated depot energy management systems.
The direction of travel is clear. The depot of the future will not simply be a place where vehicles park. It will be an active energy asset, with aggregators like FlexGO being an integral part of that set up.
Demand-side flexibility has a fundamental role to play in delivering improved outcomes for consumers from Net Zero and in delivering a zero carbon, secure, low cost electricity system (2).
A site that can coordinate EV charging, refrigeration, and other flexible energy use in response to both operational demands and grid conditions creates a major opportunity for fleet operators. It not only helps decarbonise transport, but also improves the return on electrification investments while supporting a more flexible and resilient energy system.
Flexibility is no longer separate from fleet strategy.
Increasingly, it is what will make electrification commercially sustainable, with FlexGO here to support the journey.
Flex. Earn. GO
(1) Analysis - low emission energy reshapes Britain's grid - Drax Global
(2) National Energy System Operator (NESO) | National Energy System Operator
