Calisen fits solar battery tech to 350 van fleet to halve electric vehicle downtime
By Eve
Calisen, the UK's largest smart meter provider serving around 40% of British homes, has installed Genie Insights' solar battery maintenance technology across its approximately 350 van fleet, one third of which now runs fully on electric power. The company expects the technology to cut avoidable vehicle downtime by up to 50% by addressing 12V battery failures that can immobilise electric vans even when their high voltage propulsion batteries remain charged. The move tackles a reliability challenge where auxiliary systems such as telematics units draw continuous power from 12V batteries that manufacturers are simultaneously reducing in size.
Why it matters
Fleet operators running electric commercial vehicles face a growing maintenance risk as smaller 12V batteries struggle to support always on telematics and auxiliary loads, potentially leaving charged vans stranded. Solar battery maintenance technology offers a scalable solution to reduce downtime and improve fleet availability without infrastructure changes, a key consideration for procurement teams evaluating total cost of ownership for electric van deployments.
Source
- Original title
- “Calisen targets electric van downtime with solar battery technology”
- Published
- 7 October 2026
- Also covered by
- evfleetworld.co.uk
In this story
- Topic
- EV Charging
- Place
- Global
- Tag
- Calisen
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