Key Points
- Calisen, the UK’s largest smart meter provider, has fitted Genie Insights’ solar battery maintenance technology to its electric van fleet.
- The company operates approximately 350 vans supporting a nationwide field force of around 1,100 engineers and technicians.
- Around one-third of Calisen’s fleet is now fully electric, including 2.8-tonne electric vans supplied by Stellantis and Toyota.
- Calisen expects the solar battery technology to reduce avoidable vehicle downtime by up to 50%.
- The technology addresses problems involving 12V auxiliary batteries, which can become depleted even when an electric van’s main high-voltage battery remains charged.
- Telematics and other auxiliary equipment can continue drawing power while vehicles are parked, increasing the risk of 12V battery failure.
- Genie Insights’ solution uses 50W solar panels powered by MIPV technology to provide a continuous top-up to the 12V battery during daylight hours.
- Calisen has initially retrofitted the technology to 40 vehicles and will also include it on newly procured vehicles.
- Calisen Fleet Sustainability and Efficiency Manager Briony Morgan-Wilcox said vehicle reliability is critical because engineers and technicians depend on their vans to provide essential services across the UK.
- Genie Insights Sales Manager David Carlisle said battery failure had become a common challenge for electric light commercial vehicles and that the solar solution could improve fleet utilisation.
- The initiative forms part of Calisen’s wider effort to support the UK’s energy transition while reducing emissions from its own fleet.
- The development highlights the growing importance of auxiliary battery management, alongside charging infrastructure and driving range, as companies expand electric commercial fleets.
What has Calisen introduced for its electric van fleet?
Calisen has introduced Genie Insights’ solar battery maintenance technology to address 12V battery-related reliability problems affecting its electric commercial vehicles, with the company expecting the system to reduce avoidable vehicle downtime by up to 50%.
As reported by Mark Salisbury of FleetPoint on 7 October 2026, Calisen, the UK’s largest smart meter provider, has fitted Genie Insights’ solar battery maintenance technology across its electric van operation.
Calisen supplies smart meters to around 40% of British homes and operates approximately 350 vans. Those vehicles support a nationwide workforce of about 1,100 engineers and technicians who rely on fleet availability to carry out work for customers.
The deployment comes as Calisen continues to increase the proportion of electric vehicles in its fleet. Approximately one-third of the company’s fleet now runs fully on electric power.
The electric fleet includes 2.8-tonne van models from Stellantis and Toyota. The vehicles are used by Calisen’s field workforce, making reliability an important operational consideration for the business.
The new technology is designed to address a specific issue associated with electric commercial vehicles: the potential failure of the smaller 12V auxiliary battery that supports electrical systems separate from the main propulsion battery.
Why can a 12V battery cause problems for electric vans?
An electric van does not rely solely on its large high-voltage battery. A separate 12V battery is also required to operate various electrical and electronic systems within the vehicle.
According to Mark Salisbury’s FleetPoint report, auxiliary equipment such as telematics systems can continue drawing electricity when an electric van is parked. If a vehicle remains inactive for an extended period, the continued electrical demand can place additional pressure on the 12V battery.
This can become particularly relevant during periods when vehicles are not being used, including public holidays and other extended periods of inactivity.
A discharged 12V battery can prevent an otherwise fully charged electric van from operating. In practical terms, the vehicle may have sufficient energy in its main high-voltage propulsion battery but still be unable to perform its basic functions because the smaller auxiliary battery has become depleted.
The issue is therefore different from the conventional question of how far an electric van can travel on a single charge.
For fleet operators, the problem is one of availability. A vehicle that cannot be started or accessed because its 12V battery has failed can result in lost working time, disruption to engineers and technicians, and additional fleet-management costs.
How does Genie Insights’ solar technology work?
The Genie Insights system fitted by Calisen uses solar power to provide additional energy to the electric vans’ 12V batteries.
The system uses 50W solar panels powered by MIPV technology. Rather than charging the main high-voltage propulsion battery, the solar technology is intended to continuously top up the smaller 12V battery during daylight hours.
This provides an additional source of power while the vehicle is parked or operating, helping to offset some of the electricity being consumed by auxiliary equipment.
Genie Insights has previously developed solar-powered battery-maintenance systems specifically for commercial vehicles. The company’s technology is designed to provide a low-level, continuous charge to vehicle batteries, helping reduce the risk associated with prolonged periods of inactivity and auxiliary electrical loads.
The approach means that battery maintenance does not depend entirely on drivers manually connecting additional charging equipment.
For an operational fleet, the objective is to keep the auxiliary battery in a healthier state and reduce the possibility of a battery-related failure taking an electric van out of service.
How many Calisen vehicles have received the technology?
Calisen has already retrofitted the solar battery maintenance technology to 40 vehicles.
FleetPoint reported that the technology will also be included on newly procured vehicles. Calisen converts newly purchased vehicles to a bespoke specification before putting them into service, providing an opportunity to incorporate the technology into future fleet additions.
The initial 40-vehicle retrofit therefore represents an early deployment rather than a confirmed retrofit of every vehicle in Calisen’s approximately 350-van fleet.
The company expects the technology to reduce avoidable downtime by up to 50%. That figure represents an expected improvement rather than a completed fleet-wide result.
Additional reporting by Natalie Middleton of EV Fleet World on 7 October 2026 said the solar panels were already being used to provide an additional layer of resilience for the 12V batteries. EV Fleet World also reported that many of Calisen’s electric vans travel approximately 100 miles a day.
According to that report, drivers primarily charge the vehicles at home or through the public charging network, while the solar system provides supplementary support for the 12V battery.
What did Briony Morgan-Wilcox say about the deployment?
Briony Morgan-Wilcox, Calisen’s fleet sustainability and efficiency manager, said the reliability of the company’s electric vans was important because engineers and technicians depended on their vehicles to deliver essential services to customers throughout the UK.
As reported by Mark Salisbury of FleetPoint, Morgan-Wilcox said Calisen needed a rapid response to its battery problems and had been introduced to Genie Insights through a major fleet operator that had already deployed solar panel technology to address a similar issue.
In separate reporting by Natalie Middleton of EV Fleet World, Morgan-Wilcox said the solar panels were already improving vehicle reliability and reducing avoidable downtime.
She also described the system as a passive but continuously available solution to an operational problem, while linking the deployment to Calisen’s wider sustainability objectives.
The comments underline that the project is not primarily about increasing the driving range of Calisen’s electric vans. Instead, it is focused on keeping vehicles operational by addressing a separate source of battery-related downtime.
What did David Carlisle say about the solar battery solution?
David Carlisle, sales manager at Genie Insights, said the two companies had worked together to address Calisen’s battery problems and that the technology could help increase fleet utilisation.
As reported by Mark Salisbury of FleetPoint, Carlisle said battery failure had become a common challenge for electric light commercial vehicles and described Genie Insights’ solar power proposition as a reliable and cost-effective approach to reducing downtime and supporting the long-term life of vehicle batteries.
His comments point to a wider operational issue for businesses moving from conventional commercial vehicles to electric light commercial vehicles.
The transition involves more than replacing an internal-combustion engine with an electric drivetrain. Fleet operators must also consider the interaction between auxiliary electrical equipment, battery management, telematics and periods when vehicles are parked.
For companies operating large numbers of vehicles, a relatively small battery problem can have wider consequences if it repeatedly removes vehicles from service.
Why is auxiliary battery reliability becoming more important for electric fleets?
Electric commercial vehicles are increasingly being used by companies whose employees spend much of their working day travelling between customer sites.
For those businesses, vehicle availability is closely connected to operational performance. A vehicle that cannot be used can prevent an engineer or technician from reaching a customer, regardless of how much charge remains in its main battery.
FleetPoint reported that manufacturers are also reducing the size of some 12V batteries while the electrical demands placed on auxiliary systems continue to increase.
This creates a reliability challenge because lower reserve capacity may need to support greater and more continuous electrical loads.
Telematics systems are one example. These devices can remain active while a vehicle is stationary, creating an ongoing demand on the auxiliary electrical system.
Other onboard equipment can contribute to the same load.
The result is that electric fleet management increasingly involves monitoring not only the vehicle’s main battery and charging requirements but also the smaller electrical systems responsible for keeping the vehicle operational.
How does the technology fit into Calisen’s wider sustainability strategy?
Calisen’s deployment of the solar battery technology is part of its broader fleet sustainability programme.
The company is continuing to support the UK’s transition towards lower-emission transport while working to reduce emissions associated with its own fleet.
Around one-third of Calisen’s approximately 350 vans are now fully electric, demonstrating that electrification is already a significant part of its vehicle strategy.
The use of solar technology adds another element to that strategy by helping address an operational issue associated with electric vehicles.
The development also illustrates how fleet operators are increasingly looking at the complete operating environment around electric vehicles.
Vehicle range remains an important consideration, but reliability, charging arrangements, auxiliary power consumption and battery maintenance can also influence whether an electric van is available when required.
For organisations with nationwide engineering and maintenance operations, those factors can directly affect productivity and customer service.
What does Calisen’s deployment mean for electric commercial vehicle operators?
Calisen’s deployment highlights the importance of considering operational reliability when companies scale up electric commercial fleets.
The company’s experience demonstrates that electrification can introduce new maintenance considerations even when a vehicle’s primary propulsion system is functioning normally.
A discharged 12V battery can create a practical operational failure, despite the main traction battery retaining sufficient energy.
The solar approach developed by Genie Insights is intended to address this issue without requiring drivers to alter their normal vehicle use.
The technology supplies additional power during daylight hours, potentially helping to maintain the 12V battery between journeys and during periods when the vehicle is stationary.
For fleet operators, the potential benefit extends beyond avoiding an individual battery failure. Reducing avoidable downtime can help improve vehicle utilisation and reduce disruption to mobile employees.
Calisen expects its deployment to cut avoidable downtime by up to 50%, although the company has not reported a completed fleet-wide result at this stage.
The initial retrofit of 40 vehicles, combined with the inclusion of the technology on newly procured vehicles, provides a practical starting point for the company’s wider approach.
The project also shows how Logistics and Supply Chain operations increasingly depend on effective fleet technology, battery management and vehicle availability. For businesses managing mobile engineering teams, keeping vehicles operational is an important part of maintaining reliable field operations.
What is the wider significance of solar power for electric vans?
The Calisen project is part of a broader development in the use of solar technology for commercial vehicles.
Genie Insights has previously deployed similar technology with other UK fleet operators, including Centrica. In a separate FleetPoint report published in 2024, Centrica said it was deploying Genie Insights’ 50W solar solution across 2,500 electric commercial vehicles to address 12V battery discharge.
Genie Insights has also reported that its technology is designed to support 12V and 24V battery systems, reduce downtime and help extend battery life across electric and conventional vehicle fleets.
The wider development suggests that vehicle-integrated solar technology is increasingly being considered as a practical fleet-management tool rather than solely as a sustainability feature.
For Calisen, the immediate priority is operational reliability. The solar system is intended to keep auxiliary batteries topped up, reduce avoidable failures and help field engineers remain mobile.
The company’s deployment therefore demonstrates how relatively small technological interventions can address specific operational challenges within the wider transition to electric commercial vehicles.
As electric vans become more common across UK business fleets, fleet managers are likely to consider not only charging infrastructure and vehicle range but also the reliability of the supporting electrical systems that keep vehicles available for work.