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Press Release

First Priority Group Launches New FPG Electrified Division

This division will focus on electrification of light and medium duty emergency and specialty vehicles combined with a suite of products designed to support fleet assessment and conversion, infrastructure and energy savings. FPG has been involved in the vehicle electrification arena since 2015 and will now combine its experience in emergency vehicle upfitting with its vehicle electrification expertise.

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READY TO ELECTRIFY?

With automotive technology making great strides in the past five years, the opportunity for organizations to take advantage of this innovation is enormous. When it comes to electric vehicles, a number of companies have successfully integrated these into their day-today operations, seeing strong financial and environmental benefit. If you’re considering investing in electrifying your fleet, and need to understand how this will impact your budget and operations, FPG Electrified provides a suite of products and services designed to assist in the planning and implementation of an electric vehicle fleet conversion project.

Fleet Configuration

Charging Infrastructure

Vehicle to Grid (V2G) Integration

WHO WE ARE

First Priority Group (FPG), a diversified manufacturer, dealer, upfitter and service provider of emergency and specialty vehicles is pleased to announce the launch of its new division, FPG Electrified. This division will focus on electrification of light and medium duty emergency and specialty vehicles combined with a suite of products designed to support fleet assessment and conversion, infrastructure and energy savings. FPG has been involved in the vehicle electrification arena since 2015 and will now combine its experience in emergency vehicle upfitting with its vehicle electrification expertise. For over 20 years, FPG has been serving emergency vehicle fleets and creating custom vehicle solutions to meet their needs. FPG Electrified’s mission is to center its attention on creating an EV platform with first responders in mind. Over the years, to meet the market demand for clean transportation and electric vehicles, FPG has designed electric vehicle projects for multiple clients.

Funding

Emergency/Specialty Electric Vehicles

End-to-End Implementation

FPG ELECTRIFIED SERVICES & EV FLEET BENEFITS:

From Concept to Execution:

Energy Savings and Budgetary Goals

Calculating the costs to repower fleet vehicles involves considerations around energy savings and capital/operating budgets. While the upfront investment in vehicles and infrastructure is higher than for standard gas vehicles, the return over the long term is substantial and more than makes up for the higher purchase price. According to Consumer Reports’ analysis of electric vehicle ownership, owning an EV will save the typical driver $6,000 to $10,000 over the life of the vehicle compared to owning a comparable gas-powered vehicle.3 Savings occur primarily from lower fuel costs and reduced maintenance and repair. For medium duty vehicles, such as delivery vans, the savings are doubled. A cost/benefits analysis and funding strategy are part of the FPG Electrified's project deliverables.

Fleet Configuration

There are many light duty EVs to choose from as well as an increasing number of electric vans, medium-duty trucks and over-the-road trucks. Along with these options, a growing variety of heavy-duty transit vehicles are giving fleets more flexibility to better match vehicles with their transportation operations. Electrification of fleets make sense when accompanied by a large enough set of routes between 40 and 100 daily miles in order to generate sufficient fuel savings and accommodate downtime associated with charging. Delivery vans and small trucks, especially in urban areas, often take many shorter routes to and from a central hub. The vehicles can be charged predictably, and stop-and-go traffic can increase efficiencies through the use of regenerative braking. A fleet of transit or school buses with dozens of stops and predictable routes is an excellent opportunity for fleet electrification.

Charging Infrastructure

Once you’ve determined the power demands of your fleet configuration, the next step is to design and implement the charging infrastructure. Implementing an optimized charging infrastructure will require thorough planning and coordination. With the availability and operational need of fleet vehicles of different sizes, power needs and charging options (e.g. DC vs. AC), fleets may require a mix of station types. Most fleet charging solutions will utilize Level 2 chargers which require 208/240 volt service, service panel upgrades and new breakers/outlets. Level 2 chargers can typically provide 30 to 80 miles of range for every hour of charging. Level 3 or DC fast chargers are commonly used for public charging and require 480 volt service. DC fast charging can provide up to 40 miles of range for every 10 minutes of charging. Hardware is only part of the equation. Electrification is as much a digital as it is an analog infrastructure commitment so software integration is another key aspect of the implementation. This is why it is imperative to choose smart, networked charging hardware that can be managed with software. To be intelligent, the charging network and charging software must be integrated with other fleet management systems including routing, electric meters, fuel cards, etc., as well as external services, such as weather or traffic management, to create a complete, correlated picture of the entire fleet charging context to achieve optimum efficiency for your transportation ecosystem.

Demand Management and Energy Storage

One of the most important infrastructure considerations is the cost of electric power and how to avoid charging during peak times or create an artificial peak by charging numerous vehicles at their maximum rate simultaneously, also known as “stacking” the load. Controlling the load and avoiding a peak or stacked power situation by creating a rotation for charging or sharing power among multiple vehicles should be an important part of any fleet’s energy demand management strategy. EV charging solutions should utilize off-peak timing and/or load sharing strategies to maximize their power use and more efficiently and cost effectively charge vehicles. Battery storage is a technology that enables power system operators and utilities to store energy for later use. A battery energy storage system (BESS) is a device that charges (or collects energy) from the grid or a power plant or solar panels and then discharges that energy at a later time to provide electricity or other grid services when needed. Battery storage is one of several technology options that can enhance power system flexibility and enable high levels of renewable energy integration. BESS’s are typically included in microgrid configurations. Microgrids are local energy grids with control capability that can connect or disconnect from the traditional grid and operate autonomously – in a grid connected or island mode.

Vehicle to Grid (V2G) Integration

Vehicle to Grid (V2G) describes a system in which electric vehicles communicate with the power grid. Unidirectional V2G, known as “smart charging” or V1G, involves varying the time or rate at which an electric vehicle is charged in order to provide ancillary services to the grid and includes such applications as varying the charge rate of electric vehicles to provide frequency response services or load balancing services, while V2G typically includes reverse power flow. Since at any given time 80 percent of cars are parked, the batteries in electric vehicles could be used to let electricity flow from the car to the electric distribution network and back. Research on potential earnings associated with V2G found that with proper regulatory support, medium duty electric vehicle owners could earn several thousand dollars a year per vehicle.

Fleet Data Visibility and Intelligence

Using vehicle telematics and onboard datahubs, FPG Electrified employs intelligence and data gathering methodologies to assess and report on fleet performance. Data fields include, among others, state of charge (SOC); battery health; energy usage (driving, idling, in/out of services); average speed, distance and GPS location; charging session output and regeneration rates; and CO2, NOx and particles emissions This intelligence enables fleet owners to assess and diagnose fleet performance, optimize vehicle usage and support ROI using real-world data from the fleet’s own operations.

Project Management

FPG Electrified is prepared to design, plan and coordinate all aspects of your fleet electrification project. FPG Electrified has created a consortium of leading EV consultants, OEMs, and providers that will be brought to bear to ensure that your electrification meets your transportation and operational requirements. FPG Electrified will manage the entire project from concept to execution. FPG Electrified's Project Management services include: proposals and responses to RFPs; applications to federal/state funding sources; grant applications; subcontracting with vendor partners; design and management of an implementation plan; all financial transactions including POs, invoices, and payments; regulatory issues; customer outreach and community engagement; and ongoing monitoring and reporting on project milestones.

FPG Project Management

GET YOUR FLEET ELECTRIFIED!

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