Interactive map – Electric trucks: regional stop locations fit for charging point deployment in Europe
Battery electric trucks will have to play a big role in the decarbonisation of road freight transport, not the least when it comes to trucks used for regional operations. Their market uptake is expected to increase rapidly over the next few years, but regional trucks will require an EU-wide network of suitable charging stations.
ACEA already identified the minimum number of charging points needed for Europe’s electric truck fleet by 2025 and 2030. However, one important question remains: where are actually the best locations to install charging stations for regional trucks?
From an operations point of view, chargers are best placed where trucks already often stop today. In order to pinpoint key charging locations for regional trucks, ACEA tasked Fraunhofer ISI to help analyse a unique dataset compiled by seven truck manufacturers covering the GPS coordinates of some 400,000 trucks in operation throughout Europe.
170,000 of those trucks were identified as being used for regional operations, spending about 90% of their time within a radius of 200 kilometres from the home base. The 194,000 individual stops frequented by those trucks were clustered together into larger groups, each covering a 200-metre radius.
Key clusters were subsequently identified as those with more than 100 stops per year and used by trucks of at least three different brands, resulting in this interactive map of 4,023 locations that are suitable for the future deployment of charging infrastructure for regional trucks.
4,023 regional stop locations suitable for charging points
As the interactive map shows, these clusters are not bound to country borders. Indeed, many cross-border regions are identified on this map as key locations for charging points, underlining the importance of rolling out an EU-wide network for trucks. The different colours of the clusters on the map (green, yellow and orange) indicate the density of stop locations in a specific region.
Why the distinction between regional and long-haul trucks?
Even though the biggest gains in terms of CO2 reductions are in long-haul trucking, the electrification of road freight transport will begin with shorter ranges. Hence, the importance of ensuring sufficient charging points for regional trucks in the short term.
To a large extent, regional trucks and long-haul trucks use the same stop locations, which offers potential for synergies. However, differences remain and must be addressed to ensure the rapid market uptake of both long-haul and regional electric trucks.
Required infrastructure in numbers
- Every battery electric truck will require a (lower‐power) depot charging point. This means that a minimum of 40,000 depot charging points should be installed across Europe no later than 2025, and at least 270,000 points should follow by 2030.
- The revised Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Directive (AFID) should set a target of 10,000‐15,000 (higher‐power) public and destination charging points by 2025, and a total number of 40,000‐50,000 no later than 2030. The vast majority of these must be high‐power chargers of more than 500 kW.
- In addition, a target of at least 40,000 lower-power (100 kW) public stations for overnight charging at truck parking areas along motorways should be set for 2030.
- To cater for these different charging needs, three power categories for heavy‐duty vehicles should be established: below 350 kW, 350‐500 kW and above 500 kW.
- In order to ensure that the necessary chargers are available in all 27 EU countries by 2025 and 2030, the AFID should set binding targets per member state.
Important to know
The identified locations are suitable for the roll-out of charging infrastructure from a logistics point of view. Defining exactly which locations to use and how many charging points each should have requires additional analysis and an evaluation of criteria such as: available electricity grid power, existing local initiatives, DC electric charging infrastructure for passenger cars already present, and many more.
The current dataset alone is not sufficient to decide on suitable locations for high-power fast chargers, but it is an important first step in the process.
More information about the study by Fraunhofer ISI on behalf of the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) can be found here.
