‘Easy charging at the depot’– Guide published on setting up truck charging infrastructure at depots

The National Centre for Charging Infrastructure under the umbrella of NOW GmbH, has today published the guide entitled: ‘Easy charging at the depot’ on the occasion of the BMDV conference on climate-friendly commercial vehicles 2023. It provides basic information on setting up charging infrastructure for heavy battery-electric commercial vehicles at depots.

By 2030, one third of mileage from heavy-duty road freight is to be electric. The target, set by the federal government, will yield significant CO2 savings in the transport sector. The NOW study from February 2023: ‘Market development of climate-friendly technologies in heavy-duty road freight transport’ revealed that by 2030, around three-quarters of new registrations in heavy road freight transport will operate emission-free. Strong market momentum shows that changing regulatory framework conditions and increasing demand for climate-friendly transport services are already motivating logistics companies to push ahead with converting their fleets to e-trucks.

The new guide: ‘Easy charging at the depot’ – A guide for setting up charging infrastructure for heavy-duty vehicles’ produced by the National Centre for Charging Infrastructure, helps companies with truck fleets to get started in electric mobility and provides support with the transformation process to low-emission logistics. In three chapters, the guide explains key technical terms, provides examples of the process of planning and operating charging infrastructure at the depot and examines the economic aspects of the conversion. The individual sections contain answers to main questions and provide practical tips.

Johannes Pallasch, Spokesperson of the National Centre for Charging Infrastructure and Head of Division at NOW GmbH: “Electric mobility will have a significant impact on road freight transport’s conversion to alternative drives. Our new guide is the ideal tool for companies investing in battery-operated commercial vehicles and charging infrastructure at depots. It makes the transition easier and more effective for companies.”

The guide is geared towards companies in the haulage sector in the early stages of fleet conversion as well as operators of logistics sites planning the technical upgrading of their premises and possibly are dealing with the issue of charging infrastructure for the first time.

The National Centre for Charging Infrastructure, under the umbrella of NOW GmbH, works on various projects and initiatives together with industry and the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMDV) with the purpose of creating the technical, legal and economic basis for standardised and practical planning of charging infrastructure installation for heavy-duty commercial vehicles. The now published guide on depot charging is also based on the results of a task force on depot charging set up by the BMDV, NOW GmbH and the National Centre for Charging Infrastructure, that was formed under the framework of the ‘Overall concept on climate-friendly commercial vehicles’. Approximately 60 representatives from almost 40 organisations and companies participated in the six-month task force process.

The publication of the guide: ‘Easy charging at the depot’ is part of the ‘Charging Infrastructure Masterplan II’. The federal cabinet adopted the latter in October 2022 as the federal government’s roadmap for expanding charging infrastructure. The purpose of its 68 measures is to accelerate the development of charging infrastructure. The BMDV will also support companies in purchasing and installing fast-charging points with at least 50 kW nominal charging capacity on the company premises until 30 November 2023. Each charging point will be subsidised with up to 30,000 euros, with the maximum subsidy totalling 5 million euros.

The Guide: Easy charging at the depot (PDF)

Further information on the work of the National Centre for Charging Infrastructure in the area of charging infrastructure for commercial vehicles: www.nationale-leitstelle.de/nutzfahrzeuge

Further information on alternative drives, practical knowledge on converting commercial vehicle fleets, funding programmes as well as on the BMDV’s ‘Overall concept of climate-friendly commercial vehicles – on the path to zero-emission road logistics with alternative drives’ can be found here: www.klimafreundliche-nutzfahrzeuge.de

Information on funding for non-public fast-charging infrastructure for SMEs and large companies: www.ptj.de/projektfoerderung/schnellladeinfrastruktur