Charging infrastructure and requirements
Over time, charging infrastructure has evolved from 11-22 kW (AC, type 2) used for public charging, towards fast chargers up to 350 kW (DC, CCS). The new international standard under development from CharIN for the Megawatt Charging System (MCS) will reach a maximum power of 3,750 kW DC.
This standard is specially designed for safe fast charging of trucks and buses. Current electric trucks are not yet able to charge with this maximum power, due to voltage and power limitations on the truck side, but this standard will solve the range anxiety for trucks.
With 1 MW fast charging, a lunch-stop of one hour would typically result in sufficiently charged batteries for the next 900 km. This broadly matches the average daily driving distance for long-haul truckers, but does not quite satisfy, for example, the US Department of Transport maximum driving limit of 14 hours in a 24-hour period, and a mandatory 30-minute break after 8 hours of driving. Nevertheless, as MCS or similar fast charging technology rolls out, companies will likely adapt logistic solutions for efficient electric transport.
With fast charging technology in place, it will be logistic patterns that will determine charging possibilities for different truck segments. In Europe, for instance, around 70% of heavy freight truck journeys are less than 250 km (Speth et al., 2022).
These distances indicate that overnight depot charging could solve large parts of national and state logistics, if necessary, in combination with opportunity charging at depots that are visited during the day. Day-time opportunity charging requires dispensers allowing high power ratings during short time intervals.
For international freight transport and large countries, charging along highways, or designated truck logistic hubs will be required. Even though international freight transport does not represent the majority of freight transport, it will charge relatively large amounts of electricity due to the high number of operating hours. Logistic companies will add another component to their planning: making sure there will be chargers available.
Various solutions emerging for depot charging include concepts for charging at the loading docks, for overnight charging of large numbers of trucks/buses, and combinations with shared infrastructure use for depot charging and (faster) opportunity charging (Heliox, 2023). Tesla, having pioneered its own charging infrastructure for cars, is implementing a proprietary fast charging solution (1 MW) for trucks.
Other original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) or consortia look likely to be fast followers of this solution. A clear example is Milence (Milence, 2023), an EU company founded by major truck OEMs, that will roll out MW size fast-charging infrastructure for trucks in Europe. Several demonstration projects have started, underpinning the steep growth of electric road transport we expect in our forecast.