The Mayor of London’s Energy Efficiency Fund (MEEF)—a £500-million investment fund to deliver low-carbon, sustainable projects and infrastructure in London—is providing capital to Vehicle-as-a-Service provider Breathe, supported by fintech Zeti’s pay-per-mile platform ZERO, for the deployment of 100 Tesla Model 3 electric vehicles to private hire drivers, including Uber, in London.

The funding of this zero-emission private hire fleet follows the successful pay-per-mile funding of taxis that Zeti previously delivered in London using MEEF funds.

This latest funding will see internal combustion engine vehicles replaced as part of a contribution towards tackling the capital’s air pollution problem and supports the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan’s commitment to zero-emission transport in the capital.

Forecasts predict that the Breathe fleet will save 338 tonnes of CO₂ being released into the atmosphere per annum and will also achieve an annual average reduction in CO₂ emissions equivalent to £5,137 in cost per tonne of CO₂.

Powered by Zeti’s ZERO, Breathe provides a complete VaaS subscription solution to drivers including offering insurance, maintenance and tire replacements. It also allows drivers to choose between an ‘Everything Included Ownership’ model giving them the option to own the vehicle after four years, or an ‘Everything Included Rental’ model in which the driver subscribes for use on a weekly basis.

The Breathe fleet will replace existing gasoline, diesel and hybrid vehicles with Uber which is aiming to be an all-electric platform in London from 2025 onwards. The electric vehicles will also have further advantages over a gasoline and diesel fleet as they are currently exempt from the Congestion and the Ultra-Low Emission Zone (‘ULEZ’) charges.

Breathe analytics technology provides the intelligence to manage its operations proactively. Through the Zeti ZERO platform, MEEF will be able to monitor real-time data on vehicle telematics and the overall carbon savings of the fleet based on the total mileage.

At Breathe our mission is to provide large scale Electric-Vehicles-as-a-Service offerings and we are excited to be starting with sustainable, flexible and affordable vehicle subscription options for London’s private hire market. We are seeing huge demand for electric private hire vehicles and MEEF’s funding allows us to expand our operations and help more drivers step into their first EV.

—Jeff Davis, Director of Breathe

This is MEEF’s first investment to include both a debt and equity package.

MEEF is being supported by Triodos, a leading sustainable bank, which has committed a significant part of MEEF’s capital for the project.

This is MEEF’s fourth investment in the low carbon mobility sector. Eligible projects for MEEF include e-mobility, EV charging, alternative fuel stations and hydrogen fuel cells. Since launching in July 2018, MEEF has made investments in the e-mobility, EV charging infrastructure, district heating, street lighting and energy efficiency sectors, creating energy savings of more than 39 million GWh.

MEEF was established by the Greater London Authority (GLA) in 2018 and is managed by Amber Infrastructure. MEEF provides a mixture of senior debt, mezzanine debt and equity to London’s public-sector property owners and small-to-medium-sized businesses, including but not exclusively, Local Authorities, NHS Trusts, Registered Providers, Higher and Further Education organisations, Charities and Voluntary Organisations, ESCOs and SMEs. MEEF can fund both up to 100% of the capital cost of a project and part-fund large-scale regeneration projects which demonstrate low-carbon credentials.