Abstract:

Heavy-duty trucks account for 27% of the European greenhouse gas emissions in the transport sector. The European Union plans to build a fast charging network for trucks to decarbonize road freight transport. This paper presents two scenarios covering European highways with charging stations at regular intervals every 50 or 100 km along the most important highways. For each location, the required number of charging points at 15% battery electric trucking is calculated individually using queueing theory. A third scenario takes into account the infrastructure ramp-up in 2025 and assumes a share of 5% battery electric trucking in a network with a 100 km distance. We define a network of 660 (100 km distance) or 1468 stations (50 km distance). Depending on the scenario and the individual station, the projected number of charging points per station will vary between 1 and 18 in 2030. The results give a first insight into what a fast-charging infrastructure for trucks in Europe might look like. In particular, the authors show that large charging stations with more than ten charging points could be necessary for the next few years. This knowledge might help to design future charging infrastructure for electric road freight transport.