The Mayor of London’s Energy Efficiency Fund (‘MEEF‘), managed by Amber Fund Management Limited (‘Amber Infrastructure’), has provided a debt and equity funding solution to Rock Road, a subsidiary of Rock Rail (together ‘Rock’), for the financing of 30 Wrightbus Electroliners to be operated out of Twickenham depot on Route 111 by Abellio. The state-of-the-art vehicles are fully zero-emission and will replace old diesel buses, in turn, saving c.1,750 tonnes of CO2 from polluting the environment each year.

This project represents the first financing of zero-emission buses in the UK by a consortium led by Rock Road Holdings Ltd and MEEF. MEEF’s funding package included senior debt provided by NatWest.

Rock Road’s disruptive approach offers a “light-touch” financing that allows operators to run their daily service with minimal interruption, as well as taking residual value and battery replacement risk. 

Mark Swindell, Rock Rail & Road CEO, commented: “Back at COP26, Rock made the decision to widen its scope into a new sector to accelerate the decarbonisation of public transport and to further support the UK to reach its Net Zero targets. We set out to provide operators with a new type of funding for zero-emission buses that reduces the impact on balance sheet, allows operators to retain full control over their fleet and absorbs two key risks, namely: residual value and battery replacement.”

Joanne Patrick, Head of Sustainable Energy at Amber Infrastructure, commented: “We are delighted to work together with Rock Road to support this innovative approach to financing zero-emission buses in London. We hope that this project will act as a catalyst to support Rock and London bus operators to decarbonise their fleets and improve air quality throughout the Capital”.

Jacob Lloyd, Head of Structured Asset Finance, NatWest said: “It’s great to support a new business entering the green transport space through our customers Rock Road and Amber Infrastructure. NatWest is committed to lending £100bn in climate and sustainable funding and financing by the end of 2025, with transport transition being an essential area for accelerated reduction in CO2 emissions. Supporting this transaction has helped us all take another step towards that reduction goal.”

Shirley Rodrigues, London Deputy Mayor for Environment and Energy said: “Electrifying London’s bus fleet is an important step towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions and tackling the devastating effects of toxic air pollution on public health. Our ambitious target for London to reach net-zero by 2030 requires investment to rapidly decarbonise our homes, offices, energy systems and transport.

This investment from MEEF shows the vital role public sector funds can play in unlocking the private sector investment needed to accelerate our net zero efforts and help Londoners breathe cleaner air as we build a greener and better London for everyone.”

Alastair Willis, Head of Commercial at Abellio, said: “Abellio London is proud to support TfL’s vision to decarbonise London and create cleaner and greener streets for all Londoners. By introducing these new state-of-the-art Wrightbus Electroliners with the enhanced features inside the bus, we will provide safe, comfortable and sustainable journeys for even more Londoners. Funding from Rock Road supports us as an operator to lead the way on EV bus technology in London.”

Ben Werth, Chief Commercial Officer at Wrightbus, said: “We are delighted to be providing 30 Electroliners – the world’s most efficient battery-electric double deck bus – for this important and busy London route.

Our buses have a second-to-none reputation for providing passenger and driver comfort while at the same time contributing significantly to the reduction of emissions in the cities they serve. Public transport is a key component in the race to net zero and we are proud to be at the forefront of this.”

Since launching in July 2018, MEEF has mobilised over £330m of funding for net zero projects across the Capital, saving c.17,230 tonnes of carbon dioxide and reduced energy usage by 39.2 GWh. MEEF has made seven investments in the zero emission mobility sector ranging from charging infrastructure to supporting London’s private hire drivers transition to electric vehicles.