Akela to deliver piling solutions at landmark EV charging hub

AKELA Ground Engineering (GE) has secured a contract to deliver piling solutions at the UK’s largest public electric vehicle (EV) charging hub.

The hub will be located at Redbridge Park in Oxford, with the site boasting 38 ‘ultra rapid’ EV chargers.

ACS Construction appointed Akela GE to deliver piling solutions on behalf of Dutch company Fastned. Akela will use steel repurposed tubular piles and plant equipment such as the JS300 Tracked Difficult Access piling rig using side grip piling equipment to install the steel tube piles, helping to reduce the disposal of surplus materials to landfill. Akela revealed the repurposed steel tube from the oil and gas industry reduces the site’s carbon footprint by 97% when compared to using newly manufactured prime steel tube.

The contract is Akela GE’s first EV charging point project. The Akela The Group has recently expanded into the English market with a regional base in Leeds.

Mark Markey, Akela Group MD, said, “This project is a huge milestone on the road to decarbonising the UK’s transport sector and it is a unique opportunity for our company as we continue to place sustainability at the core of our business and expand into new markets. Importantly, we are continuing to find innovative solutions to reduce our own carbon footprint using techniques and materials that help to cut waste, and we are excited that this electric vehicle charging hub project will continue to have enormous sustainability benefits long after work is completed on site.”