Diesel engine maker Perkins in Peterborough plans test hub as it looks to electric future

A manufacturer of diesel engines in Peterborough is investing in a new test facility as the company looks to switch to electric.

Perkins Engines, based off Frank Perkins Parkway, in Eastern Industry, where it employs about 2,500 people, has for decades primarily been a diesel engine manufacturer for various markets including agriculture, construction, material handling, power generation and industrial.

But with pressure growing internationally to reduce carbon emissions and as the UK Government moves to phase out diesel powered heavy goods vehicles, Perkins is looking to harness electric commercial technology.

Now the company, which currently produces 500,000 engines a year, is looking to construct a new centre at its Peterborough headquarters for the testing and development of electric engines.

It has submitted a full planning application to Peterborough City Council to create the centre on land adjoining its European Research and Design Centre near Frank Perkins Way.

The electric engine test centre will cover 554 square metres and will feature a series of external gantries with 12 lighting columns, two transformer units, two battery investigation areas and control buildings.

In a document submitted with the application, Perkins’ architectural consultants ABDS state: “The current application will enable a continued transition for the engine manufacturer to move towards electric power rather than diesel.

It adds: "Recognising that diesel engine technology now has a limited lifespan Perkins are investing in R&D for electric commercial technology.”

ABDS highlight that the move has been fuelled by several recent key announcements.

These include a report in February 2021 from the National Infrastructure Commission suggesting that an outright ban on the production of new diesel heavy goods vehicles by 2040 was required to prevent road and rail freight accounting for as much as a fifth of the UK's greenhouse gases by

2050.

Also last year, transport secretary Grant Shapps indicated that his department had published a consultation paper on phasing out the sale of all new non‐zero heavy goods vehicles by 2040.