Truck makers and environmentalists have joined forces to push for the deployment of 11,000 charging points for electric trucks across the EU by 2025, rising to 42,000 by 2030.
The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) and Transport & Environment (T&E) made this call to the European Commission in a joint letter last week.
Given that there are currently close to zero heavy-duty vehicle specific charging stations in operation, these targets are ambitious — but necessary to achieve the goals of the European Green Deal, the associations say.
In addition, some 300 hydrogen re-fueling stations suitable for heavy-duty vehicles should be rolled out no later than 2025, increasing to around 1,000 no later than 2030.
In their letter, ACEA and T&E urge the Commission to make Europe’s Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Directive (AFID) fit for zero-emission trucks and buses, with binding targets for infrastructure in all EU member states to ensure seamless cross-border operations.
This is urgent and crucial to encourage professional transport operators to make a swift transition to zero-emission vehicles.
The European Commission must address these specific needs in the AFID review, ensuring charging and re-fueling is possible at truck depots, at logistics hubs (when loading and unloading), at public sites in urban areas and along highway corridors.
Long-haul battery electric trucks, when traveling long distances, will not always come back to the depot overnight.
The revised AFID should set targets for the deployment of lower power (100 kW) public overnight chargers at truck parking areas along the highways, with at least 40,000 overnight public chargers in 2030.
Reference- Transport & Environment (T&E) PR, Clean Technica, European Commission website