- First live deployment of a fully integrated charging, energy and payments solution removes key barriers to electrification for both SMEs and major fleets, enabling faster, scalable rollout across the UK
- Welch Group unlocks revenue and utilisation with integrated energy procurement and infrastructure
First live deployment of a fully integrated charging, energy and payments solution removes key barriers to electrification for both SMEs and major fleets, enabling faster, scalable rollout across the UK
Welch Group unlocks revenue and utilisation with integrated energy procurement and infrastructure
Voltempo has today announced the first live deployment of its DepotCharge solution with Welch Group, enabling Openreach, the UK’s largest digital network, to access shared, cost-competitive and bookable depot charging. Following the recently announced partnership with Corpay, this milestone marks a significant step forward in the UK’s transition to electric fleets.
Delivered through Voltempo’s Depot Charging as a Service (D-CaaS) model and Corpay’s global fleet payment platform, the solution integrates charging infrastructure, energy procurement and fleet payments into a single, streamlined system.
East of England-based freight, haulage and logistics business, Welch Group is demonstrating how SMEs can play a central role in fleet electrification, using its depot infrastructure to support both its own operations and third-party fleets such as Openreach.
Under Voltempo’s DepotCharge model, Welch Group retains full operational control while enabling secure, bookable access to excess capacity, allowing it to improve utilisation and generate new revenue. The approach illustrates how shared depot infrastructure can provide a commercially viable route to electrification across both smaller operators and large corporate fleets.
Openreach operates the UK’s second-largest commercial fleet and now has nearly 7,000 electric vehicles on the road. The company was recently named Fleet of the Year at the 2026 Fleet News Awards, recognising its overall fleet strategy, efficiency and operational management. Openreach engineers already use a mix of home charging, public charging and chargers at operational sites, and this model adds further secure, bookable charging at operational sites for engineers who can’t charge at home.
Its participation provides clear validation of the model at scale, demonstrating how shared depot infrastructure can accelerate electrification without significant upfront investment.
Through Corpay’s global fleet payment platform, Openreach engineers can pay for charging using existing EV charge cards, including Allstar Chargepass, within a single, streamlined billing relationship.
Voltempo and Corpay will also be looking to procure energy on behalf of Welch Group using a bunkering-style approach that improves cost certainty, resilience and overall total cost of ownership. This includes access to renewable, traceable energy to support more accurate sustainability reporting, further strengthened at Welch Group by on-site solar generation.
Judy O’Keefe, Director of Fleet, Openreach, said: “Partnerships like this are essential as we build the UK’s Full Fibre network, and scale up our electric fleet to support that work. Moving a fleet of our size to electric is a big job, and it only works if charging is simple, safe and reliable for our engineers – the people out on the road every day building and maintaining that network.
“We’ve already installed more than 4,000 EV chargers at engineers’ homes and across our operational sites, but we know home charging isn’t an option for everyone. That’s why working closely with trusted charging and technology partners matters. It helps us give our engineers reliable access to charging at home, on the road and at our sites, so they can keep doing their job safely and deliver the service our customers rely on.”
Chris Welch, Managing Director, Welch Group, said: “The biggest brake on fleet electrification isn’t appetite. Operators on the whole want to make the switch. It’s the trifecta of infrastructure cost, energy complexity and cashflow uncertainty that keeps stopping them. We’ve been living that reality ourselves, so when Voltempo came to us with a model that tackles all three and actually generates revenue from our existing depot footprint, it was a straightforward decision. Now we can point to two of our depots and say: there’s your proof.”
Simon Smith, CEO of Voltempo, said: “This is a pivotal moment for the industry. We’ve moved from talking about the challenges of electrification to actively solving them at scale. By integrating infrastructure, energy and payments into a single solution, we are removing the biggest barriers to adoption; cost, complexity and access. What’s critical is that this model works for everyone, from innovative SME operators like Welch Group to major fleets like Openreach.”
Tom Rowlands, Managing Director, Global EV Solutions at Corpay, including UK brand Allstar, said: “Businesses can only truly focus on electrification of their fleets when they know they have infrastructure and solutions that will make the transition and functionality seamless. Collaboration and partnerships like this are therefore key to accelerating fleet electrification.
“By combining Voltempo’s high-quality charging infrastructure with Welch’s strategically located depots, we’re enabling forward-thinking fleets like Openreach to access reliable, cost-effective charging at scale, whilst helping depot operators generate returns from their infrastructure investments.”
This first deployment marks the beginning of a broader rollout of Voltempo DepotCharge sites across the UK, accelerating the transition to zero-emission freight.
