Nicholas is a Mechanical Engineering student about to start his 3rd year of studies at the University of Sheffield. Nicholas initially wrote to James Jones & Sons expressing a desire to gain industry and commercial experience. His particular areas of interest were sustainable engineering practises, refining existing models or pioneering new solutions for electric machinery, vehicles, battery technology and charging.
James Jones & Sons is currently partnering with Volvo Group and Cleaner EV in a three year trial of electric timber trucks, which is being funded by Scottish Forestry. A key element of the three year trial is that all partners involved are committed to sharing their experiences of running the electric lorries with others in the timber and rural haulage sectors. The project is the first of its kind in the UK and will test the use and practicality of electric wagons across the Group.
The trial of the electric truck, coupled with the Group's commitment to invest in electric forklifts and side loaders as part of its environmental strategy meant that Nicholas was able to gain first hand experience working on projects specifically around EV wagons, forklifts, charging stations and infrastructure as well as battery technologies and simplifying accurate EV data collection.