ACEA warning on European truck charging network

Daimler Truck is bundling its e-infrastructure and charging services in Europe under the TruckCharge brand. Image: Daimler Truck

Europe’s automotive industry body ACEA has warned that a lack of suitable charging facilities – in turn caused by grid constraints and regulatory and administrative roadblocks – is holding back the goal of up to a third of all new heavy-duty vehicles being zero-emissions by 2030, as required to meet CO2 reduction targets.

ACEA chief commercial vehicles officer, Thomas Fabian, said: “A fit-for-purpose charging network for heavy-duty vehicles is essential to decarbonise road transport. But without a future-ready grid, this transition simply will not happen.

“We need the enabling condi­tions to be put in place to ensure an effective, efficient transition to zero-emission road transport across our continent.”

ACEA has produced a joint paper with Europe’s electricity industry federation Eurelectric which outlines a number of key policy recommendations. These include harmonised grid capacity maps to enhance transparency, streamlined permitting processes, flexible connection models and anticipatory investments. The pa­per also highlights the importance of enabling megawatt charging (MCS) and ensuring electricity pricing supports the viability of zero-emission heavy-duty vehicles.

Meanwhile Daimler Truck, which is an ACEA member, has said its TruckCharge customers will be able to open their private chargers for third-party paid use, stating its aim that the semi-pub­lic charging network will launch from Q3 2025.

The model will see TruckCharge assume an intermediary role be­tween operators of sites, who will generate additional revenue as a result of the arrangement, and fleet users, who it is said will ben­efit from cost advantages as com­pared to using public facilities, and the ability to reserve charging stations in advance.

Daimler Truck aims to include over 3,000 fast charging points in its European network by 2030, which would make it the largest.

Martin Hink, head of eMobility business solutions at Mercedes- Benz Trucks, said: “With our Truck­Charge concept, we are aiming to close a large gap in the charging infrastructure for trucks… On the one hand, the idea is to help our customers to make their own charging infrastructure more profitable as this can be better utilised. On the other hand, we want to offer operators of electric trucks additional, attractive op­tions for charging their vehicles.”