A joint study by Fraunhofer ISI and Amazon has revealed the optimal number and locations of public fast-charging stations for long-haul truck transport in Europe.

The study found the number of Megawatt Charging System charging stations required would be lower than expected.

The results show that just 1000 public megawatt charging stations could be enough to cover 91%of the expected long-distance electric truck traffic. The number of locations proposed in the study is lower than the EU minimum infrastructure targets.

Based on the calculated traffic volume for 2030 and 1.6 million truck trip combinations, the study used Amazon’s open-source tool CHALET to analyse 20,000 potential locations for truck charging stations along European motorways.

The study is part of the HoLa project, which is funded by the BMDV and aims to research the high-power charging of electric lorries.

“The locations that are built will need to secure sufficient grid power, with some sites requiring up to 12 megawatts of grid capacity to support up to 20 MCS outlets,” said study author and head of the Energy Economics business unit at Fraunhofer ISI, Patrick Plötz.

“This highlights the significant energy requirements and grid infrastructure needed to support the electrification of Europe’s commercial trucking sector at scale; several European Governments are already actively working on this challenge.”

Plötz said a strategically planned network based on megawatt charging stations could greatly promote the spread of battery-powered lorries in Europe.

“Although the industry is pushing ahead with MCS, it is also regularly emphasised that long-distance electric trucks are not necessarily dependent on megawatt charging – they can also recharge sufficiently with CCS charging points.

“This research suggests that industry needs to accelerate development and adoption of megawatt charging systems like MCS, as this enables logistics operators who do not have access to depots to effectively electrify their fleets,” he said.

“Commercialisation of MCS can avoid the cost and complexities of securing external real estate and power, which are critical barriers to the total cost of ownership for battery electric trucks.”