New 600km ultra-fast charging network opens for e-trucks
A new network of ultra-fast 300kW electric vehicle chargers has opened in Germany along one of the busiest freight corridors in Europe, paving the way to decarbonise medium and heavy-duty vehicles.
The six bp pulse charging stations are all on Aral retail sites, along the important Rhone-Alpine logistics corridor that connects North Sea ports in Belgium and the Netherlands with Genoa in Italy.
When bp pulse opens two more sites in the next six months, electric truck operators will have charging options along 600km of motorway.
200km in 24 minutes
The new ultra-fast charge points can each recharge more than 20 e-trucks per charger per day, delivering enough power in 45 minutes to cover 200km.
Nigel Head, EV Truck Director, Europe, bp pulse, said: “By electrifying this stretch of the Rhine-Alpine corridor with ultra-fast charging, bp is enabling EV Truck charging beyond ‘back to base’ whilst rapidly learning customer insights which will directly inform our longer-term European network and proposition. Ultra-fast charging in the right locations, combined with depot and destination charging, is critical infrastructure to accelerate the electrification transition, unlocking the economic and environmental benefits of low-carbon commercial road freight and transport.”
Truck drivers will be able to use the recharging time for their mandatory rest periods, with each of the Aral sites offering hot food, restrooms and showers.
Medium and heavy trucks ready to electrify
Alex Junge, Aral Board Member for E-Mobility, said: “The discussion about e-mobility has been focused on the passenger car sector, but medium and heavy goods vehicles are also at a decisive turning point. Our strategy is designed to meet this demand with the right infrastructure and our first public electric truck charging corridor in Germany is an important milestone on this path.”
ACEA the vehicle manufacturers’ association, forecasts that 270,000 battery electric medium and heavy-duty vehicles will be in operation in Europe by 2030, which will need 140,000 public and destination charging points, according to the World Economic Forum and McKinsey. By the end of this decade bp plans to install more than 100,000 chargers worldwide, prioritising ultra-fast charging.
Johannes Pallasch, from Germany's National Centre for Charging Infrastructure, part of the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport, said: "To reduce CO2 emissions in road freight transport significantly, e-trucks will play a central role in regional and long-distance transport. As with passenger cars, the switch to electromobility can only succeed with a reliable and needs-based charging infrastructure."
Image: bp pulse
