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Electric avenues: Developing the UK’s public commercial vehicle charging network

30 January 2025 #Features & Interviews #TNB News

The UK currently needs additional dedicated public commercial vehicle charging infrastructure, available where drivers need it, to support operators switching to EVs.

It is therefore encouraging to see a number of industry specialists and energy companies putting plans in place to build new hub sites across the country over the coming years, as the sector looks to rapidly decarbonise.

Milence, the joint venture between Daimler Truck, the Traton Group and Volvo, recently announced plans to build a charging hub designed for electric Heavy Goods Vehicles (eHGV) at Panattoni Park in Aylesford, Kent.

Aylesford would be Milence’s second UK hub as construction work has started on its site at the Port of Immingham in Humberside, with the first phase scheduled to be operational in the first three months of 2025.

The proposed Panattoni Park Aylesford hub is being developed in two phases, with Milence planning to create a hub offering eight charging bays.

The first phase will include two Combined Charging System (CCS) chargers, powering four bays and providing up to 400kW of power each, making it possible to charge an eHGV in 1.5 hours.

In the second phase, as soon as the technology is available in the UK, the Aylesford site will be expanded with additional four bays, powered by Megawatt Charging System (MCS) chargers, making it possible to reduce the charging time for eHGVs to 45 minutes.

Panattoni Park is home to DHL, Fowler Welch, Evri, Marley Tiles, Amazon and Tesco, and features safe and secure parking, a driver’s lounge and amenities.

The plan is to start construction during 2025, ready to charge the first eHGV in 2026.

Milence aims to build and operate 1,700 high-power public charging points, creating Europe’s largest public charging network for heavy-duty vehicles by 2027, regardless of brand.

Anja van Niersen, Chief Executive Officer of Milence, said: “Kent, with its location between mainland Europe and London and the South East, is the perfect location for a second Milence charging hub in the UK.

“Combined with our charging technology, it means we’ll be able to meet the growing demand from eHGV operators and support the transition to sustainable road transport.”

Earlier this month, Aegis Energy revealed its plans to build five commercial vehicle refuelling and recharging stations by the end of 2027 with a £100 million investment from Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners.

Supporting fleets with their decarbonisation plans, the hubs will provide multiple fuels including electric, HVO, hydrogen and bio-CNG.

The first five stations in Sheffield, Immingham, Warrington, Corby and Towcester are part of a bigger plan to build 30 similar sites by 2030, and each location is designed to have capacity to charge/refuel more than 40 trucks and 25 vans at the same time.

Construction work on the first station is due to start this year with completion due in early 2026.

The sites will offer bookable electric charging, AdBlue, secure truck parking and driver facilities.

Christopher Thorneycroft-Smith, co-founder at Aegis Energy, said: “Building depot infrastructure can be complex and grid connections are not easy, or cheap, to secure.

“Not only this, but long-haul operations require a top-up charge, and for van drivers, when at-home charging isn’t a practical solution, they lose time waiting to charge elsewhere.

“The transition will take time and play out differently for each fleet, but by providing public hubs with multiple clean energy charging and refuelling options, we’re supporting operators to choose how they want to make the transition.”

Meanwhile, SSE Energy Solutions has plans to complete a charging hub for HGVs at Tyseley Energy Park in Birmingham.

The facility, located minutes from the A45 in the east of the city, will accommodate up to four electric HGVs at a time and house 360 kW chargers capable of dispensing up to 300 kilometres of charge within one to two hours, depending on the type and size of the vehicle and battery being charged.

SSE plans to build 500 ultra-rapid charging hubs for vehicles powered by traceable, renewable energy in the UK and Ireland by 2030.

Ben Brickwood, EV Project Development Manager for HGV at SSE Energy Solutions said: “The development of our first all-electric HGV charging hub at Tyseley Energy Park is a crucial step for SSE as we continue to enable the decarbonisation of Britain’s transport infrastructure and industries.

“Drawing on our expertise and experience with bus depot electrification and the roll out of EV passenger car hubs, this project demonstrates our commitment to accelerating the transition to electric for all vehicles and building the framework needed to support their rollout.”

Also, BP Pulse has acquired the freehold of Ashford International Truckstop in Kent as it looks to build an EV charging facility at the site.

The truck stop, located off Junction 10 and 10a of the M20, is close to Dover and LeShuttle Freight via the Eurotunnel terminal in Folkestone.

Ashford has the capacity for about 20 mega-watt chargers (MCS) – 10 x 400kW and 125 x 100 kW chargers – with the first expected to be installed in 2026.

The chargers have the potential to fully charge an HGV in up to 45 minutes, enabling an onward range of 310 miles on a single charge.

BP Pulse will operate and manage the EV charging infrastructure and lease back the site to Ashford International Truckstop, part of GSE Group, to operate the existing site facilities and secure parking on a long-term lease.

The 21-acre site already offers 660 secure parking bays and convenience services for HGV drivers.

Stefan von Dobschuetz, general manager Europe, BP Pulse said: “For fleet operators to consider going electric, they must be confident that the infrastructure is in place to support them.

“That is why we are thrilled to have secured the land to a crucial site near Dover as we strive to meet the evolving needs of HGV operators transitioning to EVs.”

With the government’s impending deadline to ban traditional fuel HGVs by 2040 in place, this type of dedicated commercial vehicle public charging infrastructure is to be warmly welcomed.

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