NEoT Green Mobility
A Conversation with Aurélien Achard, e-Mobility Director at NEoT Green Mobility
This article first appeared in the Bus-News magazine, Issue 2 2022.
Helping Operators and Local Authorities Meet Their Green Mobility Goals
Question: Can you present NEoT Green Mobility and how your proposals help with deployment of zero emission vehicle fleets?
Aurélien Achard: NEoT Green Mobility is a financing platform for zero emission vehicle fleets. Created in 2017 by the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations and EDF, and reinforced in 2021 by the UK investment fund 3i and the infrastructure fund Mirova, it provides financing solutions for private transport operators and public authorities to promote their energy transition. It also provides manufacturers with complementary solutions for financing and marketing their vehicles. In practical terms, NEoT Green Mobility buys vehicles, batteries or charging infrastructures and provides them to local authorities or operators under service contracts or operating leases.
Q: What are the advantages of your rental solutions?
AA: Firstly, the scope of our services, which range from energy packs (batteries and fuel cells) on their own to integrated solutions including vehicles, batteries and the charging infrastructure. Secondly, our ability to operate in different market segments, from minibuses to 18-metre buses, including coaches, logistics and shipping. Finally, we have great flexibility in terms of the duration of our contracts and their type. The volume of kilometres factored in is adapted to the needs of communities or operators.
The advantage of this solution is that it removes the initial investment barrier, especially in this post-Covid period of rising costs when investment budgets are tighter. In fact, with electric vehicles, you have to pay for both the vehicle and the batteries. At the time of purchase, it is a little more expensive than thermal vehicles, whereas these vehicles pay for themselves in the long run because the energy and maintenance costs are greatly reduced.
