Depot Electrification Sprint
Sprint · Hosted by Vantage Mobility. Vans plugged in together at a newly electric depot already ask for more than the site connection can carry.
About this open call
What this event is about
Electrifying the last-mile depots has moved the limit from the vans to the grid connection at each site, and an upgrade sits years back in the utility queue. We want the overnight charge sequenced against real departure times and round lengths, so every van leaves with the range it needs inside the capacity the depot already has.
What we are looking for
Charge-scheduling or site energy software from teams who have run this on a working depot rather than a simulation, using the meter and telematics data we already collect.
Problem statements
The connection is the ceiling
Every van plugged in at six in the evening wants a full battery by five in the morning, and together they draw more than the site is allowed to take. The schedule has to fit under the connection we have, because a bigger one is years down the utility queue.
Not every van needs a full battery
Rounds differ by 60 km and more, so charging everything to 100 per cent buys range nobody drives and spends capacity the depot is short of. Charging each van to its own round frees that capacity, but only if tomorrow's plan reaches the charger.
The plan has to survive the depot floor
Drivers swap vehicles, a van comes back two hours late, a cold night takes a fifth off the range. A schedule built on yesterday's roster is already wrong by the morning shift, and nobody on nights will re-plan it by hand.
Evaluation criteria
100% weighted total
Timeline
- Jun 24, 2026
Brief opened
Load profiles, charger inventories and vehicle rosters published for three electrified depots.
- Sep 15, 2026
Entries close
Last day to send the scheduling model and the depot data you ran it against.
- Sep 29, 2026
Shortlist and site walk-through
Shortlisted teams spend a night shift on site with the charging and fleet leads.
- Oct 13, 2026
Pilot chosen
One team runs its schedule live across two depots for twelve weeks.
Sponsors & partners
Vantage Mobility
Host
ETH Zürich
Technical partner
FAQs
What depot data do we get to work with?
Half-hourly meter readings and the connection limit for three sites, the charger inventory at each, and twelve weeks of telematics with round lengths. The pack is released when you join, under an NDA you sign in the form.
Do we need anything installed on site?
No. The chargers and meters are already in, and your software has to work through the OCPP interface they expose — an entry that needs new equipment fitted is the one thing we cannot pilot this year.
What happens after we send an entry?
The fleet and energy leads score entries against the depot data you used, then the shortlist walks a live site before one team is picked for the paid pilot.
Take part
Submit your entry before the deadline. Every entry is scored against the criteria above.